Red Strings of Fate
by DarqueDeath4444
Summary: Kill the Kazekage and leave Suna; That was his plan until he runs into a girl at the scene, looking curiously at the body of her father. Her exotic pink hair and gem like green eyes. She was perfect. Her inherited Magnet Release and the Ichibi Jinchuriki that tagged along was just a bonus. Little did he know that this extra package would be the best thing that ever happened to him.
1. Chapter 1

**So...**

 **We'll be uploading all three ideas after we finish typing them up.**

 **We know how we want them to be, but putting them on the page is kinda harder...**

* * *

 **Anyways, there are a few changes here.**

 **The time and age in which Sasori kills the Kazekage is different from Canon.**

 **In this fic, the third Kazekage had already retired from his position, and Gaara's father is already the fourth.**

 **The murder occurs 7 years after Naruto's birth.**

 **Sasori is 13 when he kills the Third in this fanfic. Though he is younger, the Third would be older as well...(Dunno how much this would affect it, but meh...)**

 **That's it for now...we think...**

 _ **PROLOGUE**_

Thirteen year old Akasuna no Sasori looked down, into the blank green eyes that stared back at him, just as unblinkingly. He instantly recognized the girl standing before him.

There was no one in the whole of Sunagakure who didn't know the prodigal daughter of the Third Kazekage. Not only was she daughter of the strongest Kazekage in Suna history, but she too, had inherited her father's famous Magnet Release, and already knew how to control Iron Sand.

Not only that, but she was often seen around the Ichibi Jinchuriki, who was the youngest son of the current Kazekage. It probably gave the villagers relief that the young boy was being watched over not only by the ANBU, but a highly skilled girl trained personally by her father.

Sasori, having been a trusted Shinobi of Suna, knew of her too. However, he had never really crossed paths with her...

Were the eyes of children who didn't know war supposed to be so dark?

Still, out of everyone that could have caught him, it was a young girl barely seven. Had the skill level of Sunagakure's shinobi dropped by that much?

Sasori mulled over his choices on what to do with her. He was aware that there was a possibility that someone would come by and see him.

He would have to say, now that he was standing in front of her, he could see that killing her would be a pity. While very bright, her colorings were very exotic and rare, and though he had wondered a few times, considering her age, as well as her father, it had to be natural. If only he had come across her when she was a few years older...

She would make a very beautiful puppet, he decided. Not for combat, but something like a China doll, to be kept on a shelf.

Knowing that he couldn't waste any more time, he pulled out a senbon. He couldn't risk damaging her.

"Do not take this personally, doll. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

She truly was unfortunate. Out of everyone, she had been the one to come across the scene of her own father lying limply over the shoulders of a very well known, trusted Shinobi.

The girl blinked, then opened her mouth. "Is he...dead?" She asked.

Sasori blinked, surprised at the formal tone the girl's voice had taken on. It was really unlike her age.

He could see the unconcealed childish curiosity in her eyes and became curious himself.

"He is." He said.

"You killed him?"

Sasori nodded.

The girl raised her hand, and in the next second, the senbon flew out of Sasori's hand and into hers.

"Why?"

"What is it to you?" Sasori wondered why she wasn't screaming for help, or crying for her father, or something.

The girl levitated the senbon between her hands. "Strength was everything to father." She said. "If he lost and died by your hands, it just means that you were stronger than him."

Sasori chuckled. "I see." This girl was really interesting. She talked of her dead father with close to no emotional attachment and spoke to the murder of her father as if he were no more than someone she had met on the street.

He was really considering keeping her.

"Why don't you come with me?" Sasori asked, knowing that he would be taking her either way.

"Go with you where? Aren't you a shinobi of Sunagakure?" The black sand that had fallen lifelessly to the ground after the Third had died floated into the air, swirling around the two of them. It then moved and shifted into a chair, which the girl placed herself on.

Sasori recognized this as a mild threat. He was also slightly amused that the girl had linked him with Suna. He had just killed the Kazekage, the most highest treason anyone could commit.

"Wherever." He replied. "I am looking for something eternal." His eyes began to glow as he talked of his passion. "Art is eternal beauty, and staying in this village limits this." He paused. "I grew tired of it."

"Oh." The girl shifted in her makeshift chair. "Father told me of the outside a few times." She said slowly. "He said that there was much more beyond the sand. He said I can go out once I'm strong enough."

Sasori briefly wondered what 'strong enough' had been in the eyes of the Third.

"I wish the time comes soon." The girl admitted. "I want to go out."

"Why do you want to go out?" Sasori asked, finding the point he needed to press.

Prodigies bred to be emotionless and skilled were good in combat. However, Sasori knew better than most that human curiosity wasn't something that could be suppressed over time. Being taught only what they needed to know would make them loyal by default, but it would also make them vulnerable to lust for knowledge.

He appreciated knowledge too, and so, he knew exactly which buttons so press

"Why?" The girl blinked at him. "Um...I want to see..." She trailed off.

"Aren't you curious?" Sasori pressed. "Come with me. I can show you more than just sand. True beauty you can appreciate."

"Beauty." The iron sand she had been fiddling with fell to the ground.

"Your father is no longer there to stop you, is he, doll?" Sasori asked.

The girl blinked up at him, hesitating a little. Finally, "Sakura." She said. "My name is Sakura. Nice to meet you, Akasuna no Sasori."

Sasori smiled.

* * *

Sasori's puppet shot out mouthful after mouthful of poison-laced senbon, his opponents running out of projectiles long ago. They hit their marks and the handful of Puppet Users fell to the ground, dead or dying.

Sasori glanced at the girl silently following him the best she could to match his stronger, faster strides, noting that she didn't seem to feel anything for the death of her fellow Suna shinobi.

Instead, she stepped up to an ANBU and crouched by his dead body. She untied his hitai-ate and glanced over at Sasori's slashed symbol.

"What is the cut for?" Sakura asked.

"It shows that the wearer has cut all ties with their village."

Sakura frowned for a second, before scratching through the metal plate in her hand, then tying it around her forehead.

Sasori watched on in amusement.

In reality, Sasori hadn't expected for the girl to agree to go with him so quickly. He had half expected for the girl to try and alert the guards while she kept him distracted, or at least ask for a day or two to think things through.

Sasori sealed the bodies of the dead shinobi. He would either dispose of them or turn them into puppets. Either way, leaving them on the roof where anyone could come across them, would be a bad idea.

By tomorrow, shinobi would have noticed the disappearance of the strongest Kazekage in the history of Suna and his daughter. His would be noted down as well.

If things went well, he wondered how long it would take for them to notice that he had defected.

He slowed down just a little, unsure of what had compelled him to do so, when he noticed that she was struggling to keep up with him. Which reminded him...

"You are yet to attain the rank of Genin?" It wasn't really a question. He was just curious.

"No." Sakura said. "Rank doesn't necessarily define strength. I don't attend the Academy either. My father tutored me himself." She paused. "True strength can only be obtained by those who deserve it." She said, most likely quoting her father. "Staying back with those who aren't at my level or above will only hinder my progress."

Sasori knew that the Third Kazekage could probably back up these words, and he probably would have been able to drive his own child to his level too.

Well, it seems like this job would fall on him.

* * *

The two of them had arrived at the foot of the village of walls, when suddenly, ropes of sand grabbed onto Sasori.

The Ichibi Jinchuuriki.

Sasori pulsed chakra through his limbs, matching the chakra frequency so that he could break through. Like any other Suna Shinobi, he had been warned about the dangers the Jinchuriki could become should he ever lose control.

"Gaara." Sakura murmured.

The Kazekage's son stood on the roof of the closest building, staring down at them. His eyes were wide, and his teddy bear was clutched tightly under an arm.

"Sakura?"

The pinkette tilted her head a little.

"Where're you going, Sakura?" Gaara asked. "Beyond the wall is outside, Sakura. You aren't allowed to go there."

"Outside." Sakura repeated. "I want to see this outside."

"But..." Gaara's frown deepened. "You aren't allowed..."

Sakura spread her arms and Gaara's eyes brightened a little. His form broke apart into sand, before coming back together right in front of her.

"Are you going, Sakura?" He asked.

Sakura nodded, and a faint but gentle smile appeared on her face. "I wanna see." She said. "Don't you?"

And Sasori would soon come to know, that the extra package he had picked up at Suna would be one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

* * *

 **Okay, so a little change in the summary...**

 **Raven: Darque just couldn't leave Gaara behind.**

 ** _Darque: It's strange and just simply not understandable that you expect me to in the first place._**

 **Raven: She had this obsession for red heads. I could spend forever listing all of them. Gaara, Sasori, Akabane Karma, Akashi Seijuro**

 ** _Darque: Just shut up la~ It's not even that many._**

 **Raven: Anyways-**

 _ **Darque: 'Anyways'? You-**_

 **Raven: Leave a review!**

 **Read and Review~**


	2. Chapter 2

**New story, the MultixSakura one, is now up!**

 **Details at the bottom.**

 _ **Chapter TWO**_

Escaping the village unnoticed hadn't been very difficult. Between them, they had picked a time where the guards switched over, then Gaara had taken them over the walls with his sand while Sakura used her Iron Sand to help blend them into the night.

Once they were actually over, Sasori led them towards one of the few blind spots of the outer wall.

He would know.

He had been on patrol many times, after all.

He then glanced over at two children. He had brought them out on a whim, but he would actually have to think things through from now on.

"You need a way to carry around your sand." Sasori said offhandedly.

Gaara flinched, blinking rapidly at him.

"We will not be able to return to Suna for a while, and you will be vulnerable without your only source of attack and defense."

Gaara hesitantly formed a gourd with the sand around him, to carry around.

The Puppet Master then turned to look at the Iron sand that had been trailing after Sakura ever since they had left the Third Kazekage's quarters.

Sakura blinked up at him curiously, then raised her hand. The Iron sand gathered rapidly around her. They formed several spheres, then floated into the air, circling her.

Sasori nodded. It would have to do for the time being.

The moment the next patrol passed by, Sasori had led them rapidly towards the closest border. They had to rest more times than Sasori liked, and he realized that though both Sakura and Gaara had gone through training with one Kage or another, they were still children, and they didn't as much stamina as him.

They took a few short rests, just enough to let the two catch their breath, before Sasori pushed them on. They were well into River Country when Sasori finally slowed his steps.

* * *

Sasori made sure that for the next few months, they kept low. The Third Kazekage had been deemed missing, and even now, the shinobi of Suna searched for him.

Sasori had been a very trusted shinobi, and his disappearance had been linked in with that of the Third.

At the beginning, people had thought that Sakura and Gaara had been kidnapped by enemy nations, or someone who had a grudge against Suna, but when no ransom letter of any sort arrive, they began looking into other possibilities.

The fact that they had vanished at the same time as Sasori and the Third was something everyone noticed.

Sasori, for one, had no problem with being known as a missing nin.

However, he now had an unexpected in his plans, and he needed to make sure both Sakura and Gaara knew what they were truly going into.

He took solo jobs as a mercenary in henged form for money.

He had waited this long, and though he was an impatient person, if he had to, he could wait a little more.

Three months after their departure, Sasori brought the two along on one of his missions. He needed to see their skill level, and he also needed to take them out some time.

The two proved to be more than useful against the group of bandits they had been tasked with disposing.

Sasori was slightly impressed with the massacre they had committed.

Perhaps they were ready to move out a little.

* * *

Sasori was someone who appreciated perfection and beauty. Even on missions, he liked precision.

That was hard, however, if you traveled with a pair of children the age of ten.

It had been close to three years since they had first departed from Suna, and Sasori knew that the decision he had made that one time he had acted purely out of a whim had been right. However, sometimes, he wondered what he had been thinking back then.

The two were skilled in every aspect of shinobi in a fight. However, they were still children, having been deprived of the time where they could run around, questioning everything.

In other words, Akasuna no Sasori was paying the price of being dragged around by childish curiosity, which the parents of said two had forcefully suppressed.

And so, he loved the village shinobi and rogue ninja that were stupid enough to attack them. It gave the two a chance to use up the energy they had built up

He didn't, however, like it when a certain redhead crushed the bodies of the enemy shinobi just to spite him.

Really, Gaara was too attached to Sakura for his own good.

At least Sakura was nice enough to leave the bodies of those she had killed intact enough for him to use a limb or two for his puppets.

Then again, he may be asking too much of a pair whose main style of attack was catch and crush. At least, thanks to them, he hadn't been within five meters of enemy projectiles in what seemed like forever.

Those directed towards him by Gaara didn't count, after all.

Currently, they were spending a night at a inn in some small village.

Sasori slipped into their shared room in the Inn, food and water clutched in his arms.

The moment he stepped in and locked the door, two different colors shot towards him. Sasori easily sidestepped the sand which had gone straight for his head. The sand didn't even pause as it moved smoothly on to the door, blocking the peephole while the Iron sand barricaded it by slipping into all the gaps.

"Sasori." Sakura got off the bed she had been sitting on and walked over towards him. "You're back."

Gaara didn't even bother sitting up. Instead, he shot Sasori a glare, before simply leaned forward and curling into the patch of warmth where Sakura had been previously occupying.

Sasori absentmindedly wondered how Sakura didn't notice Gaara's many attempts at killing him. However, he didn't voice this. Instead, he handed her the bag containing everything he had gone out to get. "Eat." He said. "We have another request."

A simple henge was enough to keep their identities hidden. They left no name behind, recognized only by the similar styles of killing. They became known for their absolute success rate in missions. They only appeared before those with genuine requests, and vanished just as quickly as they had arrived, with the mission payment and leaving nothing but the conclusion of the completed job behind.

Sasori had leading his two companions around the nations, taking missions with high pay and enough people involved that news traveled long distances.

However, Sasori was now ready to take things to another stage.

* * *

Gaara was the first to attack. Ambush was their normal style, and he would scare their opponents into panic and chaos. By surrounding the area with a wall made of sand, he stopped them from escaping. It also stopped reinforcements from getting in should there be any.

Sasori would then attack. By standing on higher ground, he could send out his puppets to attack everyone he could see. Of course, he went second also so that he could collect human bodies before they were all crushed.

Finally, Sakura would move in. She would sweep through the ranks of their enemies killing anyone that got in her way.

Then they would pick off the remaining ones one by one.

However, this time, Sasori had a slightly different conclusion in mind.

When one of the men scrambled to his feet and made a run for it, he stopped both Sakura and Gaara from going after him.

He had left Suna to search for eternal beauty, after all.

Fame meant money, and money meant aid in his path.

It was time they came to the light.

* * *

The news of the destruction of the Smoke country spread throughout the Shinobi Nations.

The faces of those accused to be responsible by survivors were put up.

It caused an uproar in Suna, where the shinobi had believed that all three of them had gone missing along with the Third.

However, by then, even Sakura and Gaara had learnt to wear whatever title cast upon them with pride.

They were missing nin, and being given attention even with their status was something they needed to take advantage of.

Sasori tossed dinner at Sakura, then plopped himself down on the mattress. "Eat, then sleep." He ordered.

"We will be leaving for the Wind Country tomorrow."

* * *

 **So, a new year update!**

 **We bring to you chapter two!  
**

 **Raven: It's hard to celebrate the new year, especially because Darque and I live in two different places, and Darque's new year comes an hour after mine.**

 _ **Darque: I keep telling him it doesn't matter...I'm Japanese, and I'll celebrate according to the Japanese time thingy.**_

 **Raven: :)**

* * *

 **(SakuraxMulti)**

 **A Wish upon those Eyes of Green:**

 **Born with a power considered both a blessing and a curse, Uchiha Sakura, younger sister of Madara and Izuna, grew up hidden within the compound. When Izuna is mortally wounded by Tobirama, her gift heals him of his fatal injury. However, one event leads to another and the Uchiha and the Senju agree to a truce, and Sakura is thrust out into the world she had been shielded from.**

 **Check it out, please!**

* * *

 **We hope you all have a Happy New Year, and that you keep on supporting our stories. May this new year be better than the last (Regardless for what it was like. If you got a Nokia as your first mobile phone, you could hope for an Sony smartphone this year, right?)**

* * *

 **Read and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter THREE**_

As planned, Sasori, Sakura and Gaara entered Suna at sunrise the next day. Sasori had spent the last few days keeping an eye on Suna's patrol schedule, and he chose the best time to slip past the border.

Sasori had to admit, the thought of traveling hidden under the darkness had crossed his mind. All three of them had striking hair colors, and after weighing out the advantages and disadvantages of traveling during the night and during the day, he had decided to enter Suna in the morning. The bright orange sky should hide their hair colors a little, for those with cloaks in a place as hot as Suna were considered suspicious, and the number of patrols were significantly less compared to during the night.

Since the Wind country was mostly flatland, maybe there weren't as many people trying to sneak through during the day.

The first Suna patrol they came across...well, Gaara killed them before Sasori could say anything.

Sasori had been the first to notice the patrol fast approaching and had gestured to Sakura and Gaara to prepare for a fight. Gaara had scowled at him, and had crushed said patrol with the sand under their feet before Sasori could even determine their gender, and considering the fact that he was good at recognizing those who were hidden under shinobi clothing due to being a Puppet Master that turned humans into puppets, the patrol had been a far distance away.

Approaching, but still pretty far.

Sakura didn't seem fazed at all and Sasori suppressed the urge to sigh.

Gaara flicked his hand, burying the bodies under the sand. The Jinchuriki then shot Sasori an annoyed glare, as if asking 'Why are we stopping in the middle of the friggin desert?'.

Sasori shot the boy a subtle glare before turning around and setting a much slower pace, just to spite him.

* * *

Sasori had to admit that having Gaara around while traveling in the dessert was more pros than cons. He didn't need to carry around a tent, and he didn't need to pay for an inn either.

The boy could simply use his sand to form a tent like structure which was comfortable enough to spend a night or two in.

It was easy to blend into the surroundings as well. Though Sakura's Iron sand worked in similar ways, and she was much easier to reason with, a black blob in the middle of the dessert would be instantly noticed.

It gave Gaara a lot of jobs, and Sasori didn't hesitate to use it to boss the younger red head around.

"Secure our surroundings, brat." Sasori ordered.

Gaara shot Sasori another annoyed look, then sat down beside Sakura, curling up into her side. He huffed, but didn't say anything and instead, he pressed a palm over his eye, so Sasori took it that he had complied.

* * *

"What are we doing here?"

Finally, when the sun was directly above them, Sakura asked the question Sasori knew had been bothering both children.

Sasori allowed a small smirk to slip through his mask. "We're here to reveal to Suna that those rumors are true." He said. "After years of hiding, the light was suddenly cast onto us. It would be normal for people to think that we would stay away from Suna for a while, since nearly every single shinobi is on the lookout for us."

"So we're going to attack Sunagakure?" Gaara asked.

Sasori sighed, feeling sorry for the next generation.

Then again, he wasn't the best person there was to teach children moral.

"No." Sasori said curtly. "We will be entering Suna, though."

"I want to...pick up a few scrolls of Futon techniques." Sakura said quietly.

Sasori nodded approvingly. "I'm in need for new herbs too." He said. "The greenhouse by Training ground four is heavily guarded due to the poisonous herbs kept there. The shinobi archives are only a few streets away."

At least they were competent enough to understand what he was saying.

* * *

Getting rid of the watch guards had been easy. Sneaking into the village had been easy.

Getting into the Archives had been easy, and spilling into the greenhouses had been easy.

Actually, Sasori felt sorry for Suna. How much had the village fallen in standards while he was away?

They got in, then got out no problem. Once, a patrol had almost caught them, but Sakura and Gaara had handled them from a range. They picked off a few others just for the sake of it and Sasori didn't even bother telling them to stop.

The three of them had decided to stay the night in the Wind country, where they had territorial advantage, then move into River when there was enough daylight. Gaara formed a tent structure with his sand and Sasori had just returned with dinner.

Sasori brewed some poison or another using the herbs he had taken, then placed the liquid in a veil. Though Gaara rejected it, saying that it weighed down his sand, Sakura accepted it when offered to her. Her Iron sand was now soaked with his poison.

If they were able to leave undetected, it would be perfect.

Then again, as Shinobi, they should know that nothing went according to plan.

"There's something coming." Gaara's voice cut through the silence.

Sasori hummed, already reaching out with his chakra to see if he could sense them. Though Gaara was an annoying brat, he would never do anything that could harm Sakura, and keeping quiet about potential enemies could be dangerous.

"Something?" Sakura asked quietly.

Gaara nodded. "It isn't a person, but I'm sure it's some sort of technique." He said. "It's just a whole bunch of paper flying towards us."

"Paper?" Sasori asked.

Gaara shot him an irritated look, as if to say 'Didn't I just say that?'. If it had been Sakura who had asked, Sasori knew Gaara would have simply nodded.

"What do we do?" Sakura asked.

"We'll leave them alone as long as they they do the same." Sasori decided. "Though our current location is away from the regular path of Suna patrols, if we cause a commotion, it is highly likely that someone will notice."

* * *

The next day, it was a mess in Suna.

Several of the watch guards and three patrols had been killed, their bodies found mangled beyond recognition. Another team was missing, not a trace of them to be found.

Two of the greenhouses growing the most poisonous of herbs had been raided and the guards placed at the entrances had gone missing.

Several of the archives had been broken into as well, and half a dozen or so scrolls containing Suna renowned techniques were missing.

The thieves hadn't even bothered to hide their tracks and yet, no one had noticed when they had actually been within the walls.

The only thing found afterwards was a single puppet left in perfect condition, as if it hadn't even been used in battle and instead, left behind on purpose, with a well known red scorpion carved into it.

* * *

 **Warning: WOZ RUSHED**

 _ **Darque: So, my art thing is due on Monday and I have an Oral for English on Friday...**_

 **Raven: And...**

 _ **Darque: I spent the past few hours writing fanfic and watching the U23 Asia World cup Japan VS Korea.**_

 **Raven: Okay...I have to admit, I was watching the football match too.**

 _ **Darque: I think I can sleep well tonight.**_

 **Raven: Me too.**

 _ **Darque: Also, I got most of my Mock Results back. They weren't as bad as I though.**_

 **Raven: You're 'bad' and my 'bad' is different.**

 _ **Darque: Your pass is like '90'.**_

 **Raven: And yours is like 40.**

 _ **Darque: 50. You know, half?**_

 **Raven: Yes. I know what _half_ is. **

_**Darque: Okay...Just making sure...**_

 **Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter FOUR**_

Sasori wondered if he was fast and skilled enough to outrun a rampaging Shukaku.

Gaara had spent the whole morning attempting to trip him. Tendrils of sand popped out of nowhere, lashing out at his ankles.

Sasori had just been about to be driven completely insane when god finally decided to pity him. Paper suddenly floated down from the sky, swirling around unnaturally in the wind.

Instantly Gaara stepped forward, hand outstretched and ready to crush whoever appeared.

Sakura stepped back so that her back was directly against Sasori, hands stretched out.

A woman in a black cloak appeared in front of them. She had blue hair and grey orange eyes, and a paper flower decorated her hair. She had paper wings sprouting from her back, and she hovered over the ground.

Gaara threateningly tensed his fingers, but even he paused.

This woman was no mere bandit.

"So the destruction of the Smoke village _was_ your fault..."

"And who might you be?" Sasori asked.

"I've come to invite you into the Akatsuki, Akasuna no Sasori."

"Akatsuki?" Sasori asked. "Never heard of it."

"We need your power for our future actions." The woman continued. "So come and lend us your power."

"Awfully presumptuous, aren't you?"

"Just think of Akatsuki as a place that will protect you, a Nuke-nin." The woman floated down, and the moment her feet hit the ground, her wigs dissolved into paper. "As long as you complete the assigned jobs, how you spend the rest of your time is up to you."

"That might not be a bad offer." Sasori finally said. "However..." The former Suna-nini pulled out his scroll and spread it out on the ground.

"What are you planning to do?" The woman asked.

"I can protect myself well enough." The Third Kazekage appeared in front of him, beside Sakura. He really liked Sakura's blank expression as she looked at her father. "And I happen to have two more than capable brats following me around."

The Third Kazekage shot forward, and before anyone could blink, had cut right through the woman. Her form burst into paper, then shot forward.

Sasori narrowed his eyes, then slowly turned around.

The paper came back together, and the woman stood there, unharmed.

The woman narrowed her eyes, then finally shifted her gaze to Sakura, then Gaara.

"Then...I have no choice but to take you by force."

Sasori sighed. "Hear that, little brats?" He asked.

Gaara stepped around Sasori, roughly brushing his shoulder. Sakura joined him by his side.

"Unfortunately, we can't have you taking Puppet Bastard here." Gaara said, his voice void of any emotions. "As annoying as he is, he is mine to kill." He slowly raised his arm, and sand burst out like waves on either side of them.

Sakura didn't say anything, but her iron sand spheres began to move more rapidly around her.

"It seems luck is on our side." Sasori said. "You two get to kill someone, and I get to add someone into my third level collection."

"Screw you and your puppets." Gaara snapped.

"Watch your mouth, brat. Your parents will be disappointed." Sasori replied without skipping a beat, knowing very well what their reactions would be to his meaner-than-necessary comment.

Gaara scoffed. "That's sweet, coming from _you._ "

Sasori almost missed the shy Gaara from when they had first left the village. Back then, he listened to orders, afraid that if he didn't he would be left behind.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the attachment Gaara held towards Sakura. Then again, the boy's drastic change in personality had been due to a certain event involving Sakura as well.

"You killed my father." Sakura pointed out. She gestured to the Third Kazekage.

Sasori shot her a blank look.

"Are you done?" The woman called. She paused for a second, then added. "Your two children can come with you."

Sasori coughed. "Children?" He asked. "They're more like...dogs."

Gaara glared at him, then promptly turned to face the woman from Akatsuki. "I'll deal with you first." He said. "Then I'll kill him."

Sakura hummed in agreement, though Sasori wasn't sure to what extent of Gaara's words she had agreed to.

When the woman flew at them, Gaara flicked his hand. His sand exploded, spreading out in the area in front and tearing through the paper. The woman quickly backtracked and the sand followed. She threw a handful of paper shuriken which actually turned out to be more like ordinary shuriken than paper. They became undone upon contact with the sand and created a shield. Though the sand tore through it, it gave the woman more than enough time to create space between them.

The woman jumped, her paper wings appearing and forming in a flash. A split second later, the sand under her feet formed a huge demon like hand swiping at her. She tossed a handful of paper bombs below, blowing the structure apart.

"This is going to take forever." Gaara complained. "Can I just crush her?"

Sasori glared at him. "I am going to turn her into a puppet."

"I'll crush her." Gaara raised both his hands and the sand shot upwards. More paper bombs rained down on the sand as she streaked towards them.

Gaara's sand snaked around the three of them threateningly and Sasori could see the hint of annoyance in the woman's eyes. She produced a handful of paper and threw them forward. Gaara's shield popped up and the paper bombs exploded, the force enough to create a small dust cloud.

When it cleared, Sasori could see Sakura's iron sand reinforcing Gaara's defence.

The woman landed neatly a few meters away, looking displeased. "I guess I'll just have to take out your...dogs first."

Gara bared his teeth and Sakura flicked her hands.

The two types of sand separated. The rest of Sakura's iron sand, which flew around her in black spheres, exploded and turned into strings, weaving a thin weblike structure around them.

"I'll crush her." Gaara said. "You do the defense."

Sakura nodded.

"You two are barbaric." Sasori commented.

* * *

In the end, while they succeeded in making the woman retreat, everyone was left in a bad mood.

Gaara was annoyed because he wasn't able to kill the woman and Sasori was annoyed because good puppet material had managed to escape.

Of course, if your only companions were in a bad mood, it was likely that you picked it up, and Sakura just lingered behind as Sasori and Gaara argued.

No longer actually caring, they stormed out of the Wind country.

* * *

 **Here's the next chapter!**

 _ **Darque: So, I just had a wonderful idea for this story.**_

 **Raven: Really? What is it?**

 _ **Darque: Why should I tell you?**_

 **Raven: Uh...I wonder...Because I'm like, your partner writer and stuff?**

 _ **Darque: You are?**_

 **Raven: Aren't I?**

 _ **Darque: What are you talking about? You're like, my walking dictionary/thesaurus.**_

 **Raven:...And you can't do without me, so I'm your partner.**

 _ **Darque: What do you mean? I've lived my life until now without dying, so clearly I can survive on my own.**_

 **Raven: You keep telling yourself that. You can't even walk ten meters without bumping into something. The only time you can actually walk without hurting someone is when you're in a physical fight against me or your sister or someone else.**

 _ **Darque: Is that a compliment?**_

 **Raven: Uh...no...**

* * *

 **Which one do you guys like more/want to read more?**

 _ **Sakura x Akatsuki (And other multi pairings)((If published, OUR FIRST completely AU story)):**_

 **The Akatsuki are an Elite Police Authority group stationed in a city where the lives people are influenced by the predictions of a Supercomputer. The predictions had never been wrong ever since Version Sakura had been released. However, when the computer shuts down one day for no reason, they come across the horrifying truth and the Akatsuki must confront their twisted government.**

 _ **Sakura x multi:**_

 **The Haruno clan are known for their unique relationship with the dead. To them, hearing whispers, seeing the ghosts of those unable to pass and having their bodies taken over by spirits are common occurrences. However, once in a hundred years, the 'Reaper Child' is born. The chosen of this century, Sakura can walk the land of the dead at will, the limit to her powers unknown.**


	5. Chapter 5

**New story thing at the bottom...Also, does anyone remember what day it is today...?**

 _ **Chapter FIVE**_

After their rather unpleasant encounter with the woman from the 'Akatsuki', Sasori and his two minions ran around causing chaos. Their name had travelled far and wide.

Sasori did not know what to think when he found out that his dogs had adopted the 'Akasuna' from him.

He guessed it was fine, as long as they did not tarnish it. After all, they both did plenty of 'dying the sand red with the blood of their enemies'.

He would bare the knowledge of being a part of the feared 'Akasuna no Miki' with pride.

* * *

A year or so after their encounter with the paper woman, a man from the Wave country sought them out. Sasori knew that he covered their tracks pretty well, so even he was interested in listening to the story of a person who had managed to track them all the way in some village in the lightning Country.

The man introduced himself as Takuma and said that he had come in place for his master, who was a businessman from somewhere in the Wave country. "My master would like to hire you." Takuma said.

"And where is your 'master'?" Sasori asked. "I won't work for someone who is too much of a coward to come see us himself."

Takuma flinched but didn't back down. "My master is busy dealing with a few rebellious villages in Wave." He said. "I am to bring you to him."

Sasori glanced over at his companions and they shrugged. Sasori turned back to the man. "We'll come." He said. "But we won't promise anything."

* * *

The next day, Takuma met up with them at the entrance to their inn.

They traveled to the port where they waited for boat.

Sasori turned to look as Sakura and Gaara, who were both looking around with wide eyes. They had seen boats before, but neither had actually ridden one.

Takuma gestured for them to follow him onto a rather big boat docked at the corner of the port. "We'll be there in two days." He said.

Sakura and Gaara walked cautiously over the plank between the port and the boat, looking sick already.

Sasori's amusement skyrocketed when the boat began to move and Gaara suddenly clutched the edge of the boat, suddenly finding the sea below very interesting. He thought about watching him suffer a little more but changed his mind when he saw tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. He reached into his bag and pulled out the travel sickness pills he had packed earlier.

He turned to look for Sakura, who had seated herself on the roof of the boat, looking sick. He passed Gaara and Sakura each a pill then gently ordered them below deck to sleep it off. The two didn't argue and when Sasori went down to check on them later, he found them curled up together on one of the two beds in their room. He sighed before placing a blanket over them. He placed a cup of water on the desk side table and two more pills, for when they woke up.

* * *

As Takuma had said previously, they reached the Wave country two days later.

Sakura and Gaara had never looked more pleased when they saw their destination from their boat. Gaara grabbed Sakura's wrist and his sand burst out in all directions, teleporting him and Sakura to the port. Takuma and the rest of the crew watched in shock.

* * *

They met their hirer at a hideout within the Wave country. A man wearing a business suit greeted them rather haughtily. Behind him, a dozen or so guards were stationed.

"I am Gato." The man said. He told them that he was trying to take over the Wave country.

Sasori nodded briskly. "Please get to the point."

The scowled but didn't say anything. "I have heard a lot about you, Kaksuna no Sasori." He then eyed Sakura and Gaara, who were casually perched on the table they were sitting at. "Are they your...companions?"

Sasori nodded.

"They seem a little young."

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "They're eleven." He said. "If you have a problem with that, you'll have to cut off whatever plans you have for us." He said.

Gato leaned back dismissively. "Age doesn't matter." He said. "Why don't you consider working for me, Nuke-nin?" Gato asked. "I'll pay you...generously..."

Sasori glanced over at Sakura and Gaara and tilted his head. Sakura shrugged and Gaara looked away pointedly.

Sasori turned back to the man. "Sure." He said, eyes narrowed lazily. "Why not?"

* * *

The shinobi were shown to a room in the hideout. The moment their accompaniment was gone, Sasori turned to the two children. "You sense it too, right?"

Sakura nodded and Gaara bared his teeth. "He's hiding, but he's strong." The Jinchuuriki said.

"I guess that Gato guy isn't as stupid as he seemed." Sasori noted. "His 'guards' aren't really shinobi, and stand no chance against us. However, he seems to have a shinobi as back up and had him hide, in case we try something."

"The Haku kid also seems to be a shinobi." Sakura said softly. "His chakra was suppressed."

Gaara smirked. "Not that anyone can stop us."

Sasori offered the boy a rare smile. "Keep an eye on his 'backup', will you?" Gaara nodded.

* * *

For the next few days, Gato had them running around to aid in suppressing the rebelling villages. Sasori, Gaara and Sakura cleared three of five villages of fighting spirit, massacred the rebellion leader's family in another and completely destroyed the land for the last.

Gato seemed very pleased with their work. "I heard you destroyed an entire country." He said. "I guess that wasn't just a rumor." Sasori stared blankly at the mand before excusing himself.

A few days later, they were called into a room for a 'meeting' of sorts. The first thing Sasori noticed upon entry was the Haku boy and the man seated beside him.

"Momochi Zabuza."

The man looked up at him name and his eyes glinted. "Akasuna no Sasori."

"You know him?" Sakura asked.

Sasori nodded briskly. "Missing nin." He said. "Never met him."

"Oh." Sakura stared Zabuza and Haku. Gaara nudged her and she turned to him.

"Sit?" He asked. Sakura nodded and turned to Sasori. Sasori met Zabuza's gaze before taking a seat opposite the Kiri Nuke-nin. His companions faithfully took a seat at his feet. 'Like dogs.' Sasori halfheartedly reached out and ruffled Sakura's hair. Gaara glared at him but didn't protest.

Gato called for the attention of everyone present. "There is a village at the border between Wave and the Fire country." He said. "They are still resisting, and is trying to build a bridge between Wave and the Fire Country." He turned to Zabuza and Haku, then Sasori, Gaara and Sakura. "There are rumors that the bridge builder hired a team from Konoha." He said. "You five are to go eliminate them."

* * *

 **NEW STORIES:**

 **The Core (Sakura x Akatsuki/Sakura x Multi):**

 **The Akatsuki are an Elite Police Authority group stationed in a city where the lives people are influenced by the predictions of a Supercomputer. The predictions had never been wrong ever since Version Sakura had been released. However, when the computer shuts down one day for no reason, they come across the horrifying truth and the Akatsuki must confront their twisted government.**

 _ **Those who walk the Realms of the dead (Sakura x Multi)**_ :

 **The Haruno clan are known for their unique relationship with the dead. To them, hearing whispers, seeing the ghosts wandering the planes and having their bodies taken over by spirits are common occurrences. However, once in a hundred years, the 'Reaper Child' is born. The chosen of this century, Sakura can walk the land of the dead at will, the limit to her powers unknown.**

* * *

 **Raven: So I guess that was your 'wonderful idea'?**

 ** _Darque: Yup. So, whaddya think?_**

 **Raven: Actually, it's pretty good, I think.**

 _ **Darque: I know, right? But I dunno what happens after that.**_

 **Raven:...Oh...**

 ** _Darque: They meet Team Seven then-_**

 **Raven: NO SPOILERS!**

* * *

 _ **Also, Happy Birthday to us! We're sixteen now!**_

 **Meh, so leave us an extra long review, okay?**

 **Read and Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter SIX**_

 **Information on Poll at the bottom. Please read.**

* * *

Sasori, Gaara and Sakura, and Zabuza and Haku, departed from the base early the next morning.

Zabuza and Haku immediately took the lead and they set a fast pace towards their destination. Sakura and Gaara managed to adapt to the surroundings full of trees but they were still not used to travelling in a forest.

Haku, who was a few years older than them, kept shooting them worried looks as they stumbled around at the back, just about managing to keep up.

A few hours after heading out, they came to rest at a stream.

Gaara and Sakura gratefully took the flask Sasori wordlessly passed them.

Zabuza kept glancing at Sasori, as though he expected the Puppet Master to speak up for his companions, but Sasori didn't give them a second glance.

The moment they began preparing to head out again, Gaara stormed up to Zabuza. "Give us the general location of our destination."

Zabuza looked down at the redhead, eyes narrowed. "Haku."

The boy nodded, then pointed into the trees. "There's a wide river that way." He said softly. "There's a hideout nearby."

Gaara grunted. "We are going to go ahead."

Sakura moved to stand next to him and grasped the boy's sleeve.

"Some guard dogs you are." Sasori muttered. "Leaving your master to walk?"

Gaara sneered. "I really hope your joints break, old man." Gaara and Sakura's forms became cloudy, then they burst into sand. The grains caught the wind and flew off into the forest, leaving behind a surprised Haku and Zabuza, and an annoyed Sasori behind.

* * *

The three of them caught up to Sakura and Gaara a few hours later. They then entered the hideout assigned to them.

"Gaara, keep an eye on this Konoha team." Sasori ordered. "Sakura, your job is to keep a lookout." The two nodded.

"Who made you leader?" Zabuza asked.

Sasori blinked dismissively at him. "I do not recall saying anything to you." He then turned around, done with the short conversation.

Gaara looked around the room then planted himself in the darkest corner. His gourd popped open and the eyeball that formed flew out the window. He placed a hand over his eye and zoned out. Sakura, on the other, wandered towards the door and planted herself by the frame, eyes also closed.

Sasori hummed and sat down on the couch. He had a few corpses he had gathered in one of the rebelling villages they had crushed, and it had been a while since he had had the time to sit and work on his puppets.

Zabuza grunted and sat on the other couch, shifting his gaze between the three Shun Nuke-nin. Haku shyly perched on the corner of Sasori's couch, watching the redhead work on his puppets with fascination.

"What am I exactly supposed to look out for?" Gaara called.

"They're schedules, numbers, jounin instructor..." Sasori said.

"Is 'Jounin Instructor' the oldest person on the team?"

Sasori hummed.

"Then it's a dude with silver hair. He's covering his right eye."

"Hatake Kakashi." Sakura said softly. "Matched to image on the newest version of the Bingo Book."

Sasori perked up. "Level Four." He said.

Gaara scoffed. "I'll crush him."

"You'll do no such thing." Sasori sneered. "You've had your fair share of kills."

"I only crushed the Iwa-nin's legs because you begged me to leave you an arm." Gaara snapped back.

"Then kill one of his Genin." Sasori retorted. "Leave the Hatake to me." He then paused. "You aren't to attack him until we put together a plan."

Gaara noted the change in his tone and nodded. No matter their relationship, Sasori was still leader and he had never been wrong before. Though he would never admit it out loud, Gaara trusted him.

* * *

After two days of observing, Zabuza and Sasori began to talk about their plan of approach. Gaara and Sakura still kept up with their roles, making frequent reports on the movement of the Konoha team and the rest of the builders working on the bridge.

At night, they would often go out to train a little. Gaara was growing restless and Sakura seemed a little twitchy.

That night, Zabuza and Haku joined them in the clearing. Sasori eyed them blankly before pointedly turning around to ignore them.

Sakura eyed the pair from Kiri and shrugged.

Gaara didn't seem to care as long as he could train. His gourd popped open and it flared out behind him. Sakura's iron sand exploded and surrounded her.

"Fight me, Sasori." Gaara said.

Sasori scoffed. "Why would I waste my time on you?" He asked. He jumped to avoid the sand that came to take his head off. "Fight Sakura."

Gaara winced and instantly, his sand drew back and fell lifelessly onto the ground. "No."

Sakura blinked at him.

"So even the Demon carrier of Suna has a weakness." Zabuza swung his sword around.

Gaara whipped around to look at him, eyes blazing. The sand moved again, this time not under Gaara's will. Zabuza's eyes widened just a little and he got to his feet. Haku moved forward to defend him. Gaara let out a soft gasp and clenched his fist, no doubt trying to stop the sand.

Sakura clapped her hand together and a wall of her iron sand appeared in front of the sand wave, wrapped around the sharp end.

The gold colored sand began to change into black as the iron sand seeped through. Finally, it fell to the ground again, weighted down by the denser iron sand.

"Control your emotions." Sasori called, not even looking up. "You really shouldn't have killed the volunteer Anger Therapist in Tea."

Gaara took a few deep breaths, his nails digging into his palms. Finally, when he relaxed, Sakura dropped her control over her iron. Gaara's sand slithered back to snake around the redhead.

Sakura moved towards the boy, her sand blocking the sand shield that popped up and it fell away without putting up much of a fight. Shukaku was just being annoying.

Sakura took Gaara's hands and gently healed his wounds with Medical chakra which she had begun to teach herself under Sasori's instructions.

Gaara shot one more glare at the people in the clearing over Sakura's shoulder before pulling away. He murmured something into Sakura's ear then used his sand to teleport away.

Sakura stood there for a few seconds before she went to join Sasori by the tree. She glanced over curiously at Haku and Zabuza who hadn't moved since Gaara's attack, before turning to look back down at Sasori's hands working on the joint on one of his puppets.

While he fiddled with it, Sakura twitched her fingers, using the power of her Kekkei Genkai to make a few adjustments to it.

Sasori hummed in appreciation and moved on to the next section. At one point, he glanced up at Sakura who was still intently watching his hands. When he stopped moving, she looked up, meeting his gaze.

"It's late." He said. "Why don't you go rest?"

"I could say the same for you." Sakura murmured. "Besides, it's safe to have one of us with you."

Sasori inwardly snorted. It was as though Sakura was the one looking after him, not the other way around. He let a small smile appear on his face. "Still." He reached out and tugged Sakura closer to him. She instinctively leaned into his side and Sasori guessed that it was because of her days usually leaning into Gaara's warmth. He raised his arm and draped half his cloak over the girl's shoulder.

He turned back to his puppet as Sakura vanished under the cloak with a surprised gasp.

They spent the rest of the time until sunrise like that.

* * *

 _ **Darque: So, we put up a poll concerning the future of this story. Please go check it out!**_

 **Raven: Darque is very torn as to what to do, so please go help her out!**

 _ **Darque: You can also PM/leave us a review.**_

 **There is no certainty that this will have any romantic pairings, but we'll ask for the sake of reference.**

 **Sasori x Sakura**

 **Gaara x Sakura**

 **Sasori x Sakura x Gaara**

* * *

 **Read and Review~**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter SEVEN**_

On the third day, Gaara alerted them of the Konoha teams arrival into the Wave Country.

"That took them way too long." Sasori muttered.

"They're Genin." Gaara scoffed.

"You're around the same age as them, and even you can travel faster." Sasori shot back.

"They are accompanying a civilian man who happens to be old." Sakura said quietly.

Gaara continued. "They'll be off the boat in half an hour, and will pass by the east side of the hideout in around an hour."

Zabuza hummed. "How'd you do that?" He asked.

Gaara glanced at Sasori, who shrugged. Gaara's gourd popped open and a small amount of sand flew out, forming an eyeball. "I can see things through it."

Zabuza eyed him skeptically, as though he didn't believe him, but nodded once and turned back to tending to his sword. "Leave this to Haku and I." He said.

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Can you handle it?" He asked.

Zabuza snorted. "We'll leave the Copy-nin usable." He said.

Sasori gave another lazy shrug. "Whatever." He did sit up, though. "We'll be close by."

Zabuza simply nodded and turned to Haku. "Contact the brothers." He ordered.

* * *

Zabuza and Haku chose their location of attack. Sasori scowled a little at the sticky, damp atmosphere. However, he was not very surprised as he watched Zabuza walked over the surface of the lake while Haku scouted the area.

They had the advantage in skill and numbers and had scouted the area enough and they knew it well enough to plan an ambush. There was nothing wrong with adding territorial advantage to the list.

It was better to be safe than sorry.

Haku soon returned and planted himself in front of Sasori. "The Demon brothers will ambush the Konoha team in a while." He said. "Truthfully, I'm not expecting much, but maybe we'll be lucky."

Sasori hummed, wondering where he had heard the name 'Demon brothers' before. Then again, if he couldn't remember, they probably weren't that important.

After a while, Gaara's hand fell away from his eye and he slowly stood up. "Coming." He said.

Sasori nodded and got to his feet. Sakura quickly followed. "We'll be near by." He said. He gestured towards the trees and the Akasuna no Miki vanished with a shift of the wind.

* * *

Truth be told, Sasori was slightly impressed with Zabuza and Haku's getup. This way, Haku could always get Zabuza out of the situation if necessary.

Sasori himself had never actually thought of an escape plan, for when he had been a Suna shinobi, he had been unbeatable, and now, not only did he have experience in a war, he had Gaara and Sakura, who were, though he would never admit it, very skilled and prized.

As he watched Zabuza and Kakashi fight it out, he began to plan the ways he could preserve as much as he could of the Copy Nin. He would also keep the 'Sasuke-kun', as the shrilly girl had kindly told him, and maybe the 'Naruto-kun', which the girl had also share with him. The black haired boy reminded him of an Uchiha he had met sometime ago, and the blond's piercing blue eyes were pretty in their own right.

He was also pretty impressed when the two boys managed to work together and was able to free their teacher from Zabuza's water prison. He watched Haku swoop in and knock Zabuza unconscious, immediately noticing the pressure point the boy had accurately aimed for.

"The Copy-nin should be short on chakra." Sasori said. "And I don't think he'll suspect Haku too much. I, for one, want to let them live a little." He chuckled. "Call it a reward for impressing me, even if only a little." He glanced towards Sakura and Gaara, who were both perched on a branch a little above him. "Cover Haku, but don't be seen."

The two of them vanished from their spots. As Haku got to his feet with Zabuza over his shoulder, the two of them uncovered their chakra signatures and landed noticeably on the tree branches nearby.

The girl on the team let out a yelp. 'Sasuke-kun' and 'Naruto-kun' both tensed, looking around nervous at the possible arrival of more Shinobi, while Kakashi calmly glanced around, before nodding at Haku. Haku took a step and vanished into the air. Sasori watched the spot for another second, before he body flickered away.

* * *

Zabuza was in a bad mood when he woke up.

Sasori casually left the room Haku had placed the Kiri-nin in and joined Sakura with gathering herbs outside. There were a few plants which only grew in damp areas, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Sakura put her medical knowledge to good use, but even with her help and Haku's herbs, it would take two weeks for Zabuza to make a recovery.

Gaara was once again in charge of keeping an eye on the Konoha team. He told them their schedule of training in the morning, then how the Jounin split with his Genin to accompany the bridge builder to the bridge after lunch.

After days later, while they were eating dinner, Sakura spoke up. "Hatake Kakashi's recovery will clash with Zabuza's." She said. "I believe they will be expecting us to wait for Zabuza to recover, then launch an attack."

"Zabuza-san will be pretty angry if we leave him behind." Haku said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure they already know that the Hunter-nin was in league with him."

Sasori hummed. "Then we'll lose nothing if we wait for the recovery of both parties." He flicked his fingers thoughtfully.

"The Genin are beginning to accompany Hatake Kakashi to the bridge." Gaara said. "I think they finished their training."

"Being Genin, I doubt Hatake Kakashi will attempt to seek us out." Sasori said. "We'll wait for them at the bridge in two weeks time." He inwardly sighed; how he hated waiting.

He looked at Sakura and Gaara who were sharing one of their secretive glances. Both of them sensed his gaze and turned to him. Sasori caught sight of a well suppressed, crazed look that promised the unleashing of a monster they had been concealing for a while.

He really hoped that they remembered to leave the Konoha shinobi usable.

* * *

 **Here's chapter seven...**

 _ **Darque: The 'Akasuna no Miki' will be meeting Team Seven in the next chapter! (Probably)**_

 **Raven: Kind of exciting.**

 ** _Darque: I know, right?_**

 **Raven: Yes.**

 _ **Darque: You don't sound too happy.**_

 **Raven: Yes!**

 _ **Darque: Now you sound forced. And angry.**_

 **Raven: You can't even tell what I sound like!**

 _ **Darque: Did you say...type with with a scowl or a laugh.**_

 **Raven: I wonder.**

 _ **Darque: Did you type that with sarcasm or a smile?**_

 **Raven: Guess.**

 _ **Darque: Was that typed with a smirk or a sneer.**_

 **Raven: I think I hear my mom calling. Bye~**

 _ **Darque: Did you type that in worry or fear?**_

 **Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter EIGHT**_

On the day of the confrontation, Sasori, Gaara and Sakura headed out just after dawn. Zabuza had, rather reluctantly, agreed to let the Akasuna no Miki have their share of fun. Nuke nin or not, he did have a sense of honor and pride and Sasori played with this, stating that he had had his share two weeks prior.

They arrived at the bridge before any of the attackers and stayed concealed until they began to arrive. Sasori sent out Gaara and Sakura with a wordless flick of the hand. The two of them wasted no time in killing off the workers.

Sasori then took his time inspecting the bodies, selecting a few to turn into puppets. None of them had any remarkable traits or carried a Kekkei Genkai, so he would probably take a limb or two to repair a few of his own puppets.

Gaara, who had been keeping an eye on the Konoha team, alerted them of their approach. "They're coming." He said. "Their client is there, though the blond one isn't."

"Oh?" Sasori looked up from the man he had kicked over.

"Where is he?" Sakura asked.

Gaara's lips curled and he bared his teeth. "Sleeping."

Sasori snorted. He quickly joined his companions one side of the bridge.

"The air's more damp than usual." Sakura said.

Sasori nodded. "Would it be too much of a problem?" He asked.

"No." Sakura rolled her neck and it cracked, the sound echoing over the silent bridge.

"It wouldn't matter." Gaara sneered. "Our opponents are mere Genin."

"You don't even have a rank." Sasori commented drily.

Gaara opened his mouth, probably to insult the Puppet Master, but he paused, eyes narrowing. "They're here."

"I know." Sasori placed a hand casually on his puppet scroll and turned to face the opposite end of the bridge. Sakura and Gaara took their places on either side of him.

The natural mist covered them enough that they wouldn't be identifiable to the Konoha team. Sasori had made sure to measure the distance.

"It is a honor to meet you, Hatake Kakashi." Sasori called out. Nuke nin or not, Sasori could be polite when he wanted to be. Also, he was simply speaking the truth. He lazily eyed the two genin with him, the 'Sasuke-kun' and the girl. "Where's the blond?" He asked.

"And who might you be?" Kakashi asked. "Truth be told, I thought Zabuza and his little sidekick would be confronting us."

"Well, you thought wrong." Sasori replied easily. "Unfortunately for you, it might have been better if he was your opponent."

He stepped forward, revealing himself.

Instantly, Kakashi stiffened, which in turn seemed to make the two Genin and the bridge builder nervous. "Akasuna no Sasori."

"Sharingan no Kakashi." Sasori replied, a mocking tone in his voice. He ran a finger casually over the scrolls containing his puppets. Kakashi tensed just a little, his own hand lingering on his weapons pouch. He made a subtle gesture his his hand.

"Can we start the fighting now?"

Both 'Sasuke-kun' and 'Whiny girl' tensed at the new voice.

Sakura and Gaara released the suppression on their chakra and stepped up to join the Puppet Master.

"You can do the talking later." Gaara crossed his arms and lifted his head, glaring down at the Konoha team.

"That's not possible." Sakura said. "For they would be dead, and you can't talk to dead people, can you?" She turned her dismissive gave towards the Konoha team.

"The 'Akasuna no Miki'." Kakashi said. "You've been untrackable. To think we'll meet you in Wave."

"Who's that, Kakashi-sensei?" 'Whiny girl' asked. "Do you know them, or something?"

"Akasuna no Sasori, accused murder of the Third Kazekage, the strongest in Suna history." He began. "Sabaku no Gaara, son of the fourth and current Kazekage, and Kokusha no Sakura, daughter of the Third." Kakashi listed. "Demons of the Red Sand. Those who dye the earth crimson with the blood of their enemies." He narrowed his eyes a little.

"I'm honored that someone like you know of us." Sasori said.

"Why wouldn't I?" Kakashi asked. He narrowed his eyes. "News travel fast, and this particular one is still often brought up. The Smoke country vanished without a trace."

'Sasuke-kun's eyes widened, as though he remembered the source of the infamous name he had obviously heard before.

"Didn't you say the Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori?" The bridge builder asked quietly. "And you said that 'Sakura' is his daughter."

"The three of them vanished on the day the Third Kazekage went missing." Kakashi said, not once turning his back on their enemy. "For the longest time, the shinobi of Suna suspected a kidnapping of sorts."

"Until the destruction of the Smoke country." Sasuke said.

The Jounin nodded. "There was one survivor who lived to tell the tale, and he was left alive on purpose." Kakashi drew a weapon. "So where is Zabuza and his little sidekick?" He asked.

"Waiting." Sasori said, seeing no reason to hide it. "You see, it's our turn to wreck havoc." He smirked. "My dogs are waiting to sink their teeth into something."

"We're not dogs." Gaara said, more out of habit than the need to defend himself.

"You keep telling yourself that." Sasori retorted just as smoothly. He straightened himself and turned back to the Konoha team. "While I'd love to stay and talk-" Gaara snorted in disbelief. "We have a job."

That must have been a signal of sorts.

Gaara's gourd popped open and his sand slowly slithered out. It pooled at his feet and snaked around to surround the three of them.

Sakura revealed her spheres of iron sand from the shadows of her cloak and they floated around her.

Emerald and sea foam green eyes began to glow brighter. Sakura's eyes narrowed, a snarl making its way onto her face. Gaara sneered, lips drawn back to reveal sharp teeth.

"I'll give you one more chance." Sasori said. "Hand over the bridge builder."

"We'll even give you the pleasure of watching him die!" Gaara called out.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to decline." Kakashi said. At his words, the two Genin on his team drew a weapon, though both of them didn't look too good.

"Good." Sasori drew a scroll from its holder on his back. "Either way, we wouldn't have let you live."

* * *

It was obvious to Kakashi that the coming fight wouldn't turn out so good.

If it was a one on one fight against Sasori, maybe it would be okay. However, his two companions were known to be just as, or maybe even more, dangerous than the red haired Puppet Master. His Genin would stand no chance and Kakashi couldn't fight Sasori while worrying about Sasuke, Ami and Tazuna.

He turned to inspect Gaara and Sakura. They were both younger than his Genin team, and yet, their total kill count was probably higher than his. He was sure that the two could simply sweep the battlefield and kill them all without even moving.

Kakashi planted himself in front of his team, a feeling of dread pooling in his stomach as he watched the three on the opposite end of the bridge, who were clearly in no hurry to get their mission over with.

While Kakashi knew that overconfidence was something that got a lot of Shinobi killed, the 'Akasuna no Miki' clearly had the skills to back it up.

* * *

 **Just some facts...**

 **Akasuna no Miki - Three Demons of the Read Sand**

 **Kokusha - Black sand**

* * *

 _ **Darque: So, I just finished watching Mobile Suit Gundam, Iron blooded Orphans, and I cannot wait for season 2.**_

 **Raven: You don't have to tell everyone you come across, you know.**

 _ **Darque: I don't?**_

 **R aven: No, you don't.**

 _ **Darque: Oh. Okay.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven: Okay, this is really unsettling.**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven: Say something, will you?**

 _ **Darque: So, I just finished watching Mobile Suit Gundam, Iron blooded Orphans, and I cannot wait for season 2.**_

 **Raven: Actually, don't.**

 **Read and Review~**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter NINE**_

Sasori observed the Konoha team, wondering if he should make the first move or wait for one of his brats to snap.

"Do we get the Copy Nin?" Gaara asked.

"No." Sasori replied. "You take care of the Genin." Gaara looked ready to complain, but Sasori spoke faster. "I need him _usable_."

"Come on, Gaara." Sakura said softly. "I'm sure Sasori will give us the bridge builder too." She glanced pointedly over at Sasori.

The Puppet Master waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, sure, whatever." He fiddled with his scroll. "I thought I've seen this 'Sasuke-kun' before. I now realized, he looks like an Uchiha." He muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "'Sasuke-kun' looks like _him_." His lips curled in a small snarl.

Gaara shot him a dark look, then turned pointedly away. "Can we start now?"

"Ask your opponent's." Sasori held up his scroll.

Sakura motionlessly formed a table like structure with her iron sand and Sasori placed his scroll on it. He summoned the contained puppet and hidden in the smoke, attached his chakra strings to it.

The smoke died away to reveal his Third Kazekage puppet hovering over him.

"Then again, I don't like to be kept waiting, nor do I like to keep people waiting." Sasori smirked. "Go."

Sakura and Gaara burst into sand.

Sasori used the moment of shock to attack. The claw like blades on the Third Kazekage's right arm flicked out and Sasori set the puppet forward with a twitch of his fingers. Kakashi blocked the first blow with his kunai.

"Do not fret, Sharingan no Kakashi." With a single flick of his wrist, he forced Kakashi away from his Genin. "I will not lay a hand on your Genin." He said. "The dogs can get quite picky about their own prey." Sasori had carefully inspected the bridge before the Konoha team's arrival, and knew exactly where to position himself so that he had a clear view of his opponents and yet, could stay out of projectile range. He casually stepped to the side to avoid the barrage of shuriken that came his way, using one of the bridge pillars to block the weapons. The mist slowly began To thicken.

He could see the way half of Kakashi's focus was on his Genin team and decided he did not like it.

He flicked his fingers, deciding to bring it up a notch.

* * *

With the Copy-nin out of the way, Gaara brought himself back together, taking his time with his sand as it formed their outline, then the details.

Once done, Sakura shook off his sand as naturally as he did, already used to a grainy life.

"So I guess you get us." Gaara straightened his stance and his sand coiled around him like a snake waiting to strike. "We waited three days for you to arrive, then another two weeks for the Copy-Ninja to recover enough to put up a fight." He narrowed his eyes. "I expect a fight that at least warms me up." His tone suddenly changed into something soft and gentle as he turned to look at Sakura. "Don't you think so?"

Sakura hummed, eyelids lowered in a lazy way. Her iron sand spheres broke away, surrounding them in a spiderweb like fashion.

"How about not?" 'Whiny girl' said hotly, her brave facade slowly crumbling. "That redhead can't win against Kakashi-sensei. He'll kill him, then come defeat you."

"If Sharingan no Kakashi kills the Puppet freak, we'll gladly become his new dogs." Gaara said. He wrapped his arms around himself and raised his head, looking down at the Konoha Genin.

"I'd rather not." Sakura said quietly. "Sasori has father, you know." She gestured towards the puppet Sasori was currently using.

Gaara scowled a little. "I guess." He shrugged. "Your _sensei_ doesn't look too fun. I only let the Puppet Freak live cause he doesn't complain too much when we kill people."

"Sasori is nice." Sakura said quietly.

Gaara's scowl deepened and he turned to glare at the Konoha team. "Well, unlucky for you, good for us." He jumped back and his sand swooped in underneath him, the wave bringing him up into the air.

"I was wondering." Sakura said. "What if Sharingan no Kakashi cannot kill Sasori in time?" She rolled her neck. "What if we kill you first?" The crack echoed and Gaara frowned at her; he kept telling her it wasn't good for her neck.

The Bridge Builder whimpered in fear and the 'Whiny Girl' didn't look any better.

However, 'Sasuke-kun' held his ground. He had drawn a kunai and had positioned himself in front of the Bridge Builder.

"It'll rain tonight." Gaara murmured. He slowly raised his hand and his sand formed a huge hand, which then lunged forward. 'Sasuke-kun' grabbed his two companions and managed to jump out of the way. "It'll rain blood!"

Sasuke landed on the edge of the bridge and fixed his female teammate with a glare. "Stay here and defend the Bridge Builder." He ordered.

"Wait! Sasuke-kun! I-I can't! I'm scared-" 'Whiny girl' reached out to grab his sleeve but 'Sasuke-kun' roughly shook her off. His glare hardened before he rushed forward to confront Sakura and Gaara, who were patiently waiting for him to come back.

"You think you can take both of us alone?" Gaara asked mockingly.

'Sasuke-kun' didn't reply. He simply narrowed his eyes and clutched his weapon tighter.

"Should we split?" Gaara asked, sickeningly happily.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay."

Gaara's grin widened. "I'll take the girl and the bridge Builder." He said. "Sasori had no requests for them, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Just Sharingan no Kakashi, the blond, and him." She pointed at 'Sasuke-kun'.

"Our original mission was to get rid of the Bridge Builder." Gaara said, more to himself than anything else. "I guess I can play a little. " He hummed and his sand catapulted him over the Konoha Genin. He landed on another platform made of sand, his back to 'Sasuke-kun', as though he had forgotten about him already.

Sakura body flickered to the other side, trapping the Genin and the Bridge Builder between them. Her web of iron sand spread to cover the gaps Gaara's sand had left, leaving no ways to escape. "I guess you get me." She said.

* * *

Sasuke would never admit it, but he felt more scared than ever as he stood in front of Kokusha no Sakura. Forcing down his fear, he growled and threw a handful of shuriken. The girl slowly raised her hand and suddenly, the projectiles stopped moving midair.

"I inherited my Father's Jiton." She explained. "Metallic weapons of any sorts are useless against me."

Sasuke's first thought was how stupid was for the girl to reveal something like that. However, that could also be seen as a fact that the girl saw nothing wrong with telling him, as if it wouldn't change anything. He gritted his teeth. If the girl's use of the iron sand was anything like the Gaara boy's, his Taijutsu wouldn't be of much use either.

There was also something that had been nagging at him ever since he had realized who she was. His relationship with his father was strained due to all the attention he sprinkled his older brother with and how he simply dismissed him. However, if it came down to it, they were family.

"That man killed your father, right?" Sasuke called. "Then why are you with him?"

Sakura blinked, completely unaffected. "Father always said strength was everything." She said. "It simply meant Sasori was stronger than father." Her iron sand began moving around her and Sasuke tensed, but Sakura didn't make any signs of attacking.

"If you value your life, even if only a little, you should run." Sakura said. "If you leave the girl and the Bridge Builder behind, I'm sure you can get away." She glanced over towards Sasori and Kakashi, who were exchanging blows at impossible speeds. "Sasori wants you alive. Gaara's Gaara, but not even he will go against Sasori's direct wishes."

"He wants me alive?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura nodded. "Sasori is a puppet master that turns humans into puppets." She gestured towards the Third Kazekage. "When Sasori defeated my father, he took the body and turned him into a puppet. He even managed to preserve his Jiton." She paused, and her voice went quiet. "He is after rare techniques and dojutsu." She pointed towards him. "He will kill you himself, then turn you into a puppet."

"But you're willing to let me go?" He asked, just for the sake of it.

Sakura lowered her hand and looked into his eyes, her piercing green orbs boring into his onyx. "The competition in our missions have never been...children."

Sasuke scoffed. "You're children too." He said. "If I remember, you're younger than us."

Sakura looked over his shoulder, towards where Gaara was playing around with the Genin girl. The girl was laying on a layer of Gaara's sand, tears streaming down her face and Gaara's sand poked roughly at her.

"We were raised to be weapons, not children." She said. "Gaara will lose interest soon. If you want to live, you should-"

"I don't plan on running." Sasuke interrupted.

"Okay, then." Sakura made no other move to persuade him. Instead, she jumped back. The web of iron sand behind her moved to catch her. A powerful killing Intent hit him full force and Sasuke was reminded of a spider, ready to pounce.

* * *

"You've turned them into impressive weapons." Kakashi commented casually. "Or were they already like that?"

"They had the prowess." Sasori said. "I just taught them how to wield it in the real world." He eyed the Konoha Genin, blocking the kunai that came for his head with the Third Kazekage without even looking. "Besides, it's not them." He said calmly.

Because he knew that they hadn't been broken when they had left Suna.

Not entirely, anyways.

The cracks had been there, the sames ones that formed and ate away at Shinobi over the years of exposure to blood and betrayal and all the ugly sides to life.

However, these cracks were usually evened out by satisfaction of serving one's village or the feeling of protecting one's loved ones or some other thing that filled them with warm emotions and gave them a reason to try and live through a world that sometimes seemed worse than hell.

Even Sasori had been older than the two when he had first noticed these cracks and by then, he had already found his reason for living, art.

However, Gaara and Sakura had nothing stopping the cracks from growing, and after witnessing just how disgusting and low humans could get, the cracks had just kept growing, because they hadn't known any better.

They had shielded themselves in the only way they knew, for they had nothing telling them that not everything was so ugly, because they had never experienced anything better.

Reality had begun eating away at them too early, and Sasori had realized this too late.

So despite what he said to the two of them, he knew that it wasn't their fault. Reality had gotten to them before they were ready.

However, he did know just what was responsible for driving them to that point. The system called 'society' had its way with everyone, and simply placed labels on the most ugliest of outcomes. They weren't 'insane', they simply portrayed the dark side of life in a physical, artistic way.

"It's the rest of the world."

* * *

 **Meh, new chapter here...**

 _ **Darque: So, we'll be trying something different for chapter ten.**_

 **Raven: A lot of people have been asking us about Sasori, Gaara and Sakura's first few years together, and so, every ten chapters (Probably) will be a 'omake' of sorts, which will feature the beginning months.**

 _ **Darque: On the bright side, we have the next few chapters typed down, so the wait shouldn't be too long.**_

 **Raven: So look forward to that, yeah.**

 **Read and Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**NEW STORY INFO AT THE BOTTOM!**

 _ **Chapter TEN, the Past**_

 ** _WONDER_**

Sasori had always planned everything ages before he acted upon it. What had led him to pick up the pair of unexpecteds, he didn't know, but as he watched them struggle to catch up with his bigger strides, he hoped they were worth it. While they had been keeping up better than he had originally thought, their slower than expected paces had already thrown a wrench into his plans, putting them back by at least two days.

He mentally calculated the distance to their destination, then wordlessly looked over the two.

Suna shinobi were more often long range fighters than not, and that tended to make them neglect stamina building without really meaning to.

The two were breathing heavily. The fact that they were unused to long distance travels showed in the way they dragged their feet.

His eyes caught the strange way Sakura seemed to be balancing on her right foot and ordered a rest. As the two sat down in the side of the road, Sasori moved to crouch in front of Sakura. He wordlessly took her left foot in his hand and watched the flinch she tried to hide.

"When?" He asked.

"Two days ago." Sakura said quietly. She didn't protest as Sasori inched her sandal off with surprising gentleness.

Sasori inspected the makeshift cast created with her iron sand, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "That would work."He said finally. "However, make sure to tell me next time."

He told himself that it was so that it wouldn't slow them down.

He wondered if this was what it felt like to care.

* * *

Once he was sure that they would reach their destination by the next day, Sasori decided to set up camp.

"We are going to enter a village sometime tomorrow. It's small enough that they probably won't recognize us." He fixed the two seven year olds with a firm look. "You two are twins, Sunato and Hana, and I am your older brother, Kurenai. We are from a small village in the Fire country. We lost our parents when bandits raided our village a few days ago, and we barely managed to make it out alive."

He thanked the gods that that they were smart enough to understand his meaning.

He quickly inspected the two, then pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Sakura. "Eat it." He ordered.

Sakura unwrapped the leaf wrap and eyed the seeds in her hands, then hesitantly brought one to her mouth and chewed. When nothing happened immediately, she relaxed a little.

Gaara, as usual, took the watch. The redhead positioned himself beside Sakura, eyes wide open.

Sasori lay down on the ground.

He looked over at the two children. Sakura was softly whispering something to Gaara, who in turn seemed to relax with each word.

Sasori turned away. Making sure that his weapons were within hand reach, he closed his eyes.

He wondered if it was the fact that a demon was keeping watch that allowed him to rest without nightmares.

* * *

The next day, Sasori woke up early to Gaara's panicked voice. He slowly sat up and Gaara instantly went quiet, sticking to eyeing Sasori nervously instead. The boy was still afraid of him.

Sasori met the boy's gaze, then turned to look at the reason of his panic.

Sakura sitting up in her sleeping bag, breathing heavily. She had a hand on her head and her eyes were unfocused.

She let out a soft groan and Gaara rubbed at her back. He turned to Sasori, eyes wide. "What...what did you do to her?" He whimpered.

Satisfied that the ant weeds were already taking effect, Sasori pulled Sakura into his arms. Sakura let out a pained gasp and Gaara's eyes widened in shock and fear. "Sakura is sick and we are looking for someone who can help her." He said curtly. "She'll be fine."

Dysphania ambrosioides was a highly toxic plant that caused nausea and dizziness among other things. Sakura had consumed only a small amount, so it should be fine as long as she puked it out later, if her body didn't get rid of it first. However, it would probably be more than enough to buy the pity of a handful of civilians. Innocent looking pink haired girls in pain seemed to do the trick.

He secured Sakura in his arms and positioned her so that she looked like she was sleeping. He took Gaara's hand and walked the last few kilometer to the a small village, Sasori had to admit that it had an adequate amount of security. The guards stopped them and Sasori plastered on the most brotherly look he could manage before he looked up. He handed the first guard the papers and made a show of checking Sakura's temperature. The girl let out a weak moan and Sasori hid his smirk behind his mask of worry.

"You're good to go." The guard said. He eyed Sakura. "She okay? She looks pretty bad."

"We've been travelling for a while." Sasori said quietly. "My sister is sick, and we were hoping someone could help her."

"You're lucky, kid." The second guard called. "My wife runs a clinic. My shift ends soon, so if you can wait, I can take you there."

"Girl looks horrible." The third guard said. "Get her some help. We'll do the rest."

Sasori once again hid his smirk, this time with his hair as he lowered his head in gratitude.

He wondered what they would say if they found out why Sakura sick in the first place.

* * *

The man, whose name was Oda Ryougo, was a friendly village born in his mid thirties.

Once Sasori had told him their cover story, he generously offered them a place in his house, which Sasori had gratefully accepted.

Once they had arrived at his house, Ryougo told them to wait in the living room while he went to get his wife.

Sasori placed Sakura on the couch, then placed himself into a chair with a sigh. Gaara eyed him warily, then planted himself on the couch, by Sakura's head.

No one said anything until the silence was interrupted by two pairs of footsteps. The door opened to reveal Ryougo and a woman around his age, who was quickly introduced as Oda Satsuki.

"Ryougo tells me you came all the way from the Fire country, on foot. You must be exhausted, you poor things." She quickly moved over to Sakura, who looked like she had fallen asleep. She gently touched her forehead and tried to rouse her.

Sakura's eyes opened just a little, only for them to close again. She let out a whimper.

"She has a fever. I'll get her something for that...did she eat something bad?" Satsuki smiled. "Don't worry, I think she'll be fine after some well deserved rest." She quickly inspected Sasori, then Gaara. "Nothing wrong apart from obvious exhaustion and dehydration."

She wasn't far off and Sasori was slightly impressed.

"I'll get you some water and something to eat, then you can take a bath, then go to sleep." She smiled. "What you need is food in you stomachs, a warm bed and a good night of sleep." Satsuki stood up and moved to the kitchen, and Ryougo led them to the guest room, which included two beds. Sasori took the bed closer to the door and placed Sakura on the other.

A few minutes late, Satsuki was at the door with water and bowls of porridge. Under her arm was a roll of towels and spare clothes. Sasori gratefully took them.

"Leave the bowls in the sink. The bathroom is right opposite this room. Feel free to use it once you're done eating. " Sasori thanked her and bid her good night, before he closed the door.

Later, Sasori took Sakura to the bathroom and shoved some blood root down her throat. Not a lot, just enough to make her vomit out the remaining of the ant weed in her system. When she finally stopped convulsing and went limp, he carried her back to their room and replaced her on the bed, deciding to let her sleep it out.

Perhaps he could get used to the two. Considering their rare born-with abilities, with the proper training, they could become real assets. Sasori was an impatient person, but he was a good shinobi, and he knew that sometimes, things were worth the wait.

After all, they were nothing more than something he had picked up on a whim, or so he thought.

He wondered if one day, they could be different.

* * *

As expected, Sakura recovered after a good night of sleep. Sasori gave her a quick check up and nodded, satisfied. They would be able to move out anything the moment they needed to.

It had been a while since Sasori had felt himself relax, and he decided to take this chance to plan for the next few weeks.

Originally, he had been planning to travel around for a while, accepting mission and making a name for himself.

However, he now had Sakura and Gaara to worry about. No matter their skills and their training, Sasori knew they were nowhere near ready to start taking jobs for money. While they may not have any qualms with death or killing, there were a few things they needed to learn before they officially went around as his companions.

Until they were ready, he would have to keep them somewhere while he went around on jobs by himself. While he was confident that Suna would suspect him to be a simple Nuke-nin that had close to nothing in relations to the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, his daughter, and the youngest son of the fourth, as well as in the abilities of himself and two children, should they accidentally run into them, he did not want to risk anything so soon.

He grabbed the map he had brought along from Suna and spread it on the table. He had marked down the small villages and towns which Suna had no dealings with before he had left, and he decided that they would have to jump from place to place.

Civilians were quite easy to charm. Have ready a sob story and a sickly sibling and they were willing to help.

Sasori felt a cold kind of sympathy towards them.

Sometimes, his world seemed so different compared to theirs.

He wondered what it would have been like to be able to live in complete oblivion of the darkness and death looming right over his shoulder.

* * *

Sasori, Sakura and Gaara stayed in Sakano Village for the next few days. The people were nice and accepting, and seemed to understand their need to be alone once in a while, thought it probably wasn't for the reason they suspected.

Adults tended to be a lot more loose mouth about children, and Sasori decided to put the two children to good use. They wandered around with shy smiles and fidgety fingers, picking up everything the people talked about.

They were born and raised in Kage households, after all. They knew that knowledge was needed in order to attempt any sort of diplomacy.

Sasori knew that while a civilian village would offer them the protection in the form of ignorance, just because people weren't shinobi did not make them stupid. They could not stay here forever, but they would need a proper reason to leave so soon after the traumatic event they had sewn together as their past.

Then Sakura and Gaara brought back some news on the recent ongoings of the general area. Small civilian villages were often linked through trade routes and rumors and stories traveled fast.

The stories of an uprising against a Daimyo a few villages south caught his eye and he quickly forged a letter from some shinobi relatives who was offering to take them in after they had learnt of the death of their 'parents'.

When Sasori announced that they had decided to take the offer, Ryougo and Satsuki had been very happy for them, and as he watched the couple helped them prepare to leave to meet their relatives, he felt sorry for them. They were so gullible.

He shoved away the smaller feeling of what he knew was called 'guilt' before it could eat away at him.

Ever since the death of his parents and his grandmother's continuous lies, he had come to realize that by the time they were old enough to have a family, shinobi were far too broken to truly care for anyone.

And so, for a brief moment, he basked in the genuine smiles.

He wondered what it would have been like to be born into a family that hadn't been shattered beyond recognition before they had even really begun.

* * *

Sasori slowly took the bag of food offered to them with face hesitance and thanked Matsu, a woman who ran a grocery store, with a smile so genuinely fake that had he been anyone else, it would have hurt,.

As Ryougo, Satsuki, and the handful of other people that had come to see them off shared their final farewells with them, Sasori watched without really seeing and listened without really hearing.

"Our relatives are active shinobi who specializes in infiltration." Sasori said easily. "So we might move around a lot."

Satsuki smiled at him. "Well, write to us if you have the chance, yes?"

Sasori nodded. He let Sakura and Gaara wave one more time before he took their hands. "We are really grateful for your hospitality." Sasori said. "Thank you."

He wondered what genuine gratitude felt like, and wondered if it felt anything like the warm feeling within his chest.

* * *

Sasori learnt that Tsuji was a small village rich in raw materials.

The current Daimyo, some man named Ahokichi, had been the husband of the previous Daimyo's daughter and when the previous Daimyo had died, had threatened the heir with the life of his sister, his very own wife, to take the title.

The previous heir, Masayoshi, had been stripped of his rank, and while he hadn't been killed, had been banished from the main house. The people had been looking forward to him taking over and had been willing to follow when he started trying to overthrow the current Daimyo. He was the leader of the rebellion.

However, Ahokichi had taken advantage of the rich raw materials to hired mercenaries in order to put down the rebellion. The hired men were not afraid to resort to violence, and didn't seem to mind the jobs given to them as long as they were paid.

He knew knew news traveled fast and that it was unusual for travelers to stick their noses into such things, so he sent Gaara in with a message for Masayoshi.

The boy returned the next day with a reply.

Sasori opened the letter and smirked.

It seemed like the next Daimyo was willing to pay him for his service.

Gaara carried Sakura and Sasori with him during his next sand teleportation. The two waited patiently as he settled the final bits of their deal with Masayoshi.

"Capture Ahokichi and bring him here." Masayoshi said. "Rescue my sister."

"And the hired guards?" Sasori asked.

"I have no use for them." Masayoshi said.

He didn't say it, but Sasori knew. He might not have been a shinobi, but this man seemed to understand that sacrifices were necessary in things like this.

The man also seemed to know the unwritten policies of the most successful of Nuke-nin. They came from nowhere, did the job, took the payment, then left just as quietly as they had come. The names they made were nothing more than shadows and afterthoughts. By the time the rumors caught up, they were far, far away.

Instead of questions, he simply gave him numbers and maps to work with.

Sasori didn't want Sakura and Gaara to fight yet, but knew that first hand experience was the best sort of training. He put Gaara in charge of finding out time schedules and number of guards while he had Sakura scout the types of men Ahokichi had hired.

Masayoshi's followers didn't question them either. A few had seemed surprised by how young they were, but no one said anything. They simply let them in. They shared information and gave them food.

In two days, Sasori was ready to move in. He ordered Sakura and Gaara to stay back and left for the Daimyo's palace.

As he tore through them men that threw themselves at him without batting an eye, Sasori knew that deep down, this was where he belonged.

He wondered where the brief feeling of being 'human' had vanished.

* * *

 **NEW STORY:**

 **Ivy: (Sakura x Sasuke/Sakura x Multi?)**

 **Under orders, Uchiha Sasuke is sent to Orochimaru's side where he meets Sakura, an isolated girl willing to do anything for her father's recognition. Sasuke sees Orochimaru take advantage of his daughter's loyalty to make her do inhumane things and realizes that with her upbringing, she doesn't know any better. Deciding to dig deeper, he finds a lonely girl starved for affection.**

* * *

 **The plants mentioned, antweed and bloodroot are both real. They are both actually very dangerous, especially antroot, and if eaten, the effects will probably not stick to a simple 'nausea' and 'dizziness' kind of thing. Bloodroot does make one vomit, but we do not know if that is enough to remove the poison from the antweed either. We also do not know if there are any side effects to the two plants being taken together. However, that is how they will work for the sake of this story.**

* * *

 **Also, fun fact:**

 **'Aho' in Ahokichi means idiot.**

 **Masayoshi is written '正義' and it means justice.**

* * *

 _ **Darque: Sasori is such a bastard.**_

 **Raven: Darque with the language...**

 _ **Darque: What? It's true?**_

 **Raven: And you made him that way?**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven: Anyways, this plant thing was all Darque knowledge, so if any of you happen to be herb/plant specialists, take your complaints to her. I'm more surprised by the fact that you know this kind of stuff.**

 ** _Darque: I like this kind of stuff, remember?_**

 **Raven: Yeah. You had that huge ass book that was as thick as a fridge.**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven: What? It was.**

 _ **Darque: I think that's a bit off. What kind of comparison is that?**_

 **Raven: A very shocked one. What would you have compared it to, then?**

 _ **Darque: It was as thick as a dictionary.**_

 **Raven: But what if your dictionary was only ten pages thick?**

 _ **Raven: Why? Cause you** **ate the** **rest of the pages?**_

 **Raven: He-**

 _ **Darque; Anyways, then what if your fridge was one of those huge ones that take up whole sides of the house, like the ones those chefs of TV use?**_

 **Raven:...Good point.**

 _ **Darque; Even the average fridge is wider than your arm length.**_

 **Raven: Okay. I'm actually starting to see what you're trying to say, and that thought scares me for some reason. I wonder why.**

 **Read and Review~**


	11. Chapter 11

**NEW STORY INFO AT THE BOTTOM!**

 _ **Chapter ELEVEN**_

Sakura faintly recognized the boy she was fighting, but could not put a name to his face. However, Sasori had found him familiar as well. His features were distinctive, and she would have recognized such distinctive features...

They way the boy clutched his weapon and he way he stanced himself rang bells in her mind, and something stopped her from moving in straight for the kill like she usually did.

"Have I...met you before?" Sakura finally asked.

'Sasuke-kun' narrowed his eyes. "I think I'd remember such bright hair."

"Sasori mentioned a Uchiha." Sakura said, and her sharp eyes caught the most tiniest of flinches. "You are a Uchiha."

'Sasuke-kun' scowled. "What is it to you?" He asked.

"You just remind me of an Uchiha I once met." Sakura said, and she offered no more.

* * *

Sasori knew that even if it were only him and Kakashi, he would still have the advantage. His Third Kazekage gave him the advantage of long range. His puppets provided him protection, while Kakashi would have to avoid his iron sand at all costs. Sasori hadn't mentioned anything about the poison soaked into the iron sand, but the Copy nin seemed pretty aware that it was dangerous.

He wondered if the rumors of the Konoha shinobi having a nose as good as any Inuzuka was true. Next time, he would have to make sure that his poisons were scentless as well.

Their fight, while looked intense from the outside, was nothing compared to if the two went all out. The copy nin graced him with a conversation and Sasori casually offered him replies as he dodged weapons as though he had been doing so his whole.

"Some people didn't believe you killed the Third Kazekage." Kakashi said. "I'm still pretty surprised. Was he really that bad of a leader?" He jumped to avoid the iron sand that came to knock him feet from under him.

"He wasn't." Sasori said. "He was understanding and was ruthless when the times called for it." Sasori sent the iron sand after the Copy nin.

"But you still killed him." It was a statement.

Sasori shrugged. "It got boring." He withdrew his iron sand. "I'm surprised a prodigy like you still decided to remain in Konoha." He admitted.

"You aren't the only one to think that, though I'm sure you're the first person to say that to my face." Kakashi said dryly. "I think the higher ups are surprised too, but I believe they've summarized it as 'Loyalty' and left it at that."

Sasori quickly caught on. "You're not the only one?"

"Ever heard of the Yellow Flash or Uchiha Itachi?" Kakashi asked sarcastically.

"I see." Sasori dramatically swept his cloak to the side and recalled the Third Kazekage to hover over him. "So you had prodigy buddies."

Kakashi shrugged. "You could say that."

"In a world where everything is n continuous repeat, I soon became bored of the expression humans made when they were being torn apart. I became bored of the kinds of poison I could brew from the most innocent looking of flowers and the effects they cold bring" Sasori smirked. "I came to yearn for more. I wanted something I could not understand in one go. I wanted a project where I could hover for more than a few moments. I found that in the form of the two brats."

"You had the thirst, the skills and the determination." Kakashi said. "And you had virtually nothing tying you down to your village."

"So you do understand." Sasori didn't know why, but he could slowly feel the fight leaving him.

For the first time in a while, Sasori felt at peace. Not the kind he felt when he managed to preserve a rare kind of Kekkei Genkai in his puppets or when he came across an exceptionally rare specimen.

He felt at peace with himself.

* * *

Sakura, who had been gradually adding pressure behind her barrage of halfhearted attacks on 'Sasuke-kun' was forced to suddenly pull back when a barrage of shuriken came for her. As her sand drew up to form a wall, there was a puff of smoke, and half a dozen 'Naruto-kun' clones appeared, his loud cry of "NAMIKAZE NARUTO HAS ARRIVED!" accompanied by bright colors that were quite a shock to her eyes.

She was quick to destroy the clones, and turned up just in time to see 'Sasuke-kun' stop 'Naruto-kun' from charging at her. The blond looked ready to argue, but 'Sasuke-kun' jerked harshly on his sleeve and whispered something frantically to him. 'Naruto-kun' paused, before he visibly relaxed.

"Are you not going to go help your female teammate?" Sakura asked.

"I'm, not falling for that!" 'Naruto-kun' declared. "You're just trying to separate us, cause you don't think you can beat us both."

Sakura didn't seem to have heard anything he said. "Gaara is more likely to kill the girl, then the Bridge Builder." She said. "Isn't your mission to protect him? Is fighting us included in the requirements?"

"It's not like you're going to let us go without a fight." Sasuke replied. "Either way, we'll have to beat you to get away."

Sakura hummed. "I see." Her sand shifted, once again lifting her up into the air. "Well, it works out for Gaara that the two of you are here." She said. "Sasori specifically requested for you to be left usable, and at times, Gaara finds controlling himself difficult. Personally, I don't think Sasori expects much in the first place. He must know it is a difficult request for us," Her hands shot out in front of her. "Whose method of killing is usually-" Her iron sand swirled dangerously around them, slowly but surely closing in. "Catch and Crush."

* * *

Sasori pulled back from close confrontations and made no move to attack again, and he saw Kakashi relax just a little, as though the Copy Nin had noticed.

"I guess you carried everything on your own?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." The Third Kazekage went limp, even though it was still attached with Chakra strings.

"You aren't going to fight anymore?" Kakashi continued.

"This is Sakura's father." Sasori gestured towards the puppet, though he was sure everyone present knew that, or at least suspected it. "She wouldn't want me to damage it too much."

"She didn't seem to care when you brought it out."

Sasori scoffed.

"Don't you have a job you were hired to complete?" Kakashi asked, his eyes crinkling into what Sasori assumed was a smile.

"I guess we'll just have to kill our client." Sasori muttered, more to himself than anything. "I don't like red marks on our clear record."

He flared his chakra and Kakashi caught a sharp movement from the corner of his eye. Sakura had stopped all movements,. Gaara also stopped, the bridge builder hanging by his ankle from a rope of sand while Ami was buried neck deep in a mountain of it.

"You...do not wish to fight any more?" Sakura asked softly, though her voice reached Sasori perfectly well.

"No." Sasori's puppet waved it arms. "It's gotten boring." He eyed Kakashi. "Besides, due to personal reasons, I wish to spare the Uchiha," He glanced at Sasuke.

Sakura and Gaara noted the silent order. Simultaneously, they dropped their opponents and their weapons tidied itself up. Gaara's sand back into his gourd while Sakura's iron sand gathered back into their spheres and flew back to surround her.

"I wish you luck, Sharingan no Kakashi." Sasori murmured, just as a monstrous chakra signature flooded the opposite side of the bridge.

Momochi Zabuza stepped out from the mist, Haku wearing his mask at his side. "I never took you to be the betraying type, Sasori." Zabuza threateningly raised his sword.

"You took me to be the loyal type?" Sasori asked. He flicked his fingers, and the Third Kazekage mockingly bowed in the former Kiri-nin's direction. "Say hello to my greatest kill yet."

Zabuza growled, though Sasori could sense his amusement. "Kage killer, huh?" He swung his sword. "I guess that's worse than killing your client."

Sasori shrugged nonchalantly. "To be honest, I don't really trust him."

"Trusting others in our line of work is stupid." Zabuza said. "But he hires, and is willing to pay." He continued. "What more can I ask for?"

* * *

"Is he always like that?" Tazuna asked, gesturing towards Sasori, for a moment forgetting his fear. Gaara's glare silenced him, but the redhead decided to grace him with an answer.

"He is."

* * *

"If you're going to withdraw, you better get going." Zabuza said. "You don't mind if we take your pay too, will you?" It didn't really sound like a question.

"Did you not hear us?" Sasori asked. "We are going to kill Gato, them take our pay." He narrowed his eyes. "If you are that desperate, you can take whatever is left."

The faint signs of an alliance, and maybe, comradeship, vanished just as quickly as suddenly as the mist shrouded the immediate area.

"I guess you're going to choose to go about this the hard way." Zabuza's tone was dripping with threat.

"You're just giving us no choice." Sasori replied, just as smoothly. Gaara and Sakura moved to join Sasori while Haku tensed from beside Zabuza.

A full out fight would have broken out, if not for the interference of a third party,

* * *

 **WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STORY...PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW IT.**

 **\- Sasori x Sakura, we think.**

 **\- High school AU**

 **\- They prank someone (Ino?). They knocked her unconscious and dump her in a bathtub full of dye, or something.**

 **\- Sakura says something about not really being friends with Ino and the others, and that they only want to be picked to go on an 'adventure', or something.**

 **PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW/FIND IT!**

* * *

 **NEW STORY:**

 **And they swore beneath the Fire Lilies (Sakura x Neji sibling relationship / Sakura x Multi):**

 **Hyuuga Neji thinks 'Chance' is a stupid word. Such a simple word shouldn't define the power to change one's life. Hyuuga Sakura's world revolved around one person. She knows that once, they've seen the light they could no longer see and heard the song they could no longer hear. The story of a pair of broken siblings unable to escape the fate that has pitted them against the world.**

* * *

 **So, chapter eleven...**

 **Truthfully, we don't really know what to think**

 _ **Darque: Hey, guess what?**_

 **Raven: What?**

 ** _Darque: I just read something very interestin_ g.**

 **Raven: Oh, what's that?**

 _ **Darque: So basically, each person has 2 parents, then 4 grandparents then 8 great grandparents and the numbers keep doubling with each generation, right?**_

 **Raven: Yeah.**

 _ **Darque: If you keep tracing back, by the time you hit 35 generations back, we'd have more ancestors than the whole populations of the planet. You're the smart one. Get it?**_

 **Raven: That means I'm related to you.**

 _ **Darque: Is that all you can say?**_

 **Raven: Oh the horrors.**

 **Read and Review~**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter TWELVE**_

"What do we have here, hm?"

Sasori looked dismissively away from Zabuza and fixed the new arrival with a lazy look. "Gato."

The man was dressed in his usual business suit, and was surrounded by what was probably all his other hired mercenaries. Sasori's instincts told him something was wrong, and Sasori knew not to ignore his war trained sub conscience.

"What are you doing here?" Zabuza seemed to have followed his train of thought.

"Well, you see, there was a change of plans." Gato chuckled. "You five will be dying here."

Zabuza's reaction was immediate. "What?" He demanded.

"Hiring real shinobi costs money, so I hired you nuke-nin instead. I was hoping you guys killed each other off, but I can see that wont be happening." Gato straightened his tie. "But here you are, fighting among yourselves like a handful of brats. You're more pathetic than I thought." Laughter echoed from the men behind him.

"What would you say if I told you I kind of expected that?" Sasori murmured.

"Nothing, for I agree." Sakura replied.

"I never liked him anyways." Gaara agreed.

"I see." Sasori offered the two a smile that conveyed more than his words ever could, and the two nodded in reply.

"Well, you'll be vanishing now." Gato said.

Gaara fixed him with a 'you serious, old man?' look, but none of them said anything.

"I believe that concludes it." Sasori called over his shoulder. "We truly have no reason to fight, Sharingan no Kakashi." He said. "Now, why don't you and your Genin team run along." He shot Sasuke a subtle look. "I owe Uchiha Itachi a debt." He said softly. "I do not know your relations to him, but tell him Akasuna no Sasori has returned it and give him my greetings." He then turned back to face Gato and his men, done with the conversation.

He knew Zabuza and Haku's next move was questionable, but knew this would not affect his plans by too much.

Sasori was a strategist. He planned several steps ahead, for almost every single possible outcome. He knew there were only a few ways this could end, and all of these endings included a image of a dead Gato.

Sasori found he did not really mind this. "There are several things I dislike." He began quietly. Had it been another time, Gaara would have made a snide comment, but even the Jinchuuriki was quiet.

"I dislike waiting, and keeping others waiting. I dislike sleeping in sandy beds and sharing sleeping bags with sandy people. I dislike ugliness and fake beauty." Sasori narrowed his eyes dangerously. "But most of all, I dislike dishonorable beings and liars." He slowly pulled out a scroll from the holster on his back and held it out in front of him, letting it unfurl to reveal the word '蛭'. "I have deemed you unworthy of living. You are wasting precious air, and I want you gone. Right now."

In a puff of smoke, Hiruko appeared beside him. He attached his chakra strings to it and the shell popped open. "It's been a while since I last used this one." Sasori admitted. "I haven't required the protection it offers since I left Suna." He knew this was thanks to Sakura and Gaara, but he did not voice this out loud "But in a fight against a large group, it may prove useful."

That line made his intentions a hundred percent known.

Sasori knew the difference in the times Sakura and Gaara simply dismissed what he said and when they really reacted to his words. This time was the latter. He had a feeling Hiruko would not be needed, but it played in the intimidation factor, so why not?

"Sasori has spoken, Gaara." Sakura said.

"I heard him clearly." Gaara smirked. "I knew there was a reason I kept you alive."

Sasori would admit, perhaps he had underestimated Gato just a bit. The man had paled considerably while he had been talking with his dogs, and he had moved back several feet from his previous position. Maybe the man was smart enough to actually recognize the threats being sent his way.

However, that mattered not, and Sasori knew that better than anyone present.

"You-you dare threaten me?" Gato demanded. "I am your _client_. Only I am willing to hire Nuke-nin like you!"

"Oh? Did you not just sprout that you weren't planning to pay us?" Sasori asked. "You call that 'hiring'?"

"That-that was-" Gato screeched in annoyance.

"And besides, my team and I are very skilled. We are probably the most skilled you could ever hire." Sasori sounded smug, but he also knew that this was true. "You are not only the one who offered us a hefty price for our skills."

Gato gritted his teeth in fear and annoyance. "You think you can fight this many people at once?" He demanded, gesturing towards his men. "You're as good as dead!"

"I shall take that as a threat." Sasori said, as calm and as mocking as ever. "I really do hope you know who exactly you are going against."

"Does it really matter?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Not really." Sasori admitted. "I just wanted to try saying it."

"What about Kitchen Knife and Haku?" Gaara asked, not sparing the two Kiri nin a look.

"That depends on them." Sakura said,

"So we can kill them if they decide to side with Gato?"

Sasori nodded. "As long as they don't stand in front of us we are going to leave them out."

"Are you getting soft?" Gaara asked, eyes blank.

Sasori snorted. "I thought you liked Zabuza and Haku."

"They're alive, aren't they?" It wasn't really a question.

"As for the Konoha team, I do not like keeping any debts unpaid."

"Thu Uchiha." Gaara said.

Sakura was the one that answered. "Yes. By letting them go, we area are returning what we owe."

"Makes us even?" Gaara asked. Sakura nodded. Gaara lowered his eyes, his green gaze covered by his hair.

Sasori knew what was currently running through the minds of his two companions and he decided that he did not like it. "Shall we get started?" He asked, trying to shatter the mental images of the past that still haunted them.

Gaara gratefully pounced on the chance to shift his line of thought while Sakura simply nodded.

"Are you not leaving, Sharingan no Kakashi?" Sasori asked. "We won't attack when your back is turned, you know?"

Kakashi stayed rooted to his spot. "I don't doubt that." He said.

"They're young." Sakura offered softly. "I...I think you should leave."

"My team has yet to witness a real kill." Kakashi said. "They still do not understand the difference between knowing how to kill, and what it is like to really kill."

The three Konoha Genin, who had been quiet to that point, broke out in protests, but Kakashi ignored them. "You of all people should understand how important this is."

Sasori snorted. "I do, but I don't think you should compare your brats to mine. Mine have been killing before they even knew what it meant." He then turned to said brats, a soft smile on his face. "I know you two have been holding back." He said. "I doubt any of them," He gestured towards Gato and his men, "Have anything valuable on them. " He stepped back suggestively. "You two can do as you please."

The excitement and genuine happiness in Sakura and Gaara's eyes almost broke his mask of indifference.

Almost.

* * *

 **So, chapter twelve here!**

 **We dunno if it was clear (Actually, it probably was, cause see how Sasuke din't throw a fit?) but UCHIHA ITACHI IS NOT A EVIL DUDE IN THIS STORY. NARUTO'S PARENTS ARE ALSO ALIVE!**

 **In case you missed it, neither of us like massacre/Narutohasnoparents stories...Yeah...**

 **HOW IS ITACHI RELATED TO THEIR PAST? WHAT DID SASORI MEAN WHEN HE SAID A DEBT? STAYED TUNED TO FIND OUT!**

 **(^That was Darque)**

 **Raven: I'm setting the topic today.**

 _ **Darque: Oh? That's rare**_

 **Raven: I have something to complain about.**

 _ **Darque: Oh?**_

 **Raven: My next few comments are not for the underaged (Probably).**

 _ **Darque: Oh...aren't we underaged?**_

 **Raven: I think you know what I'm going to say anyways.**

 _ **Darque: You mean...**_

 **Raven: I just caught my friend, (We'll call him 'Ghoul' cause he has the same name as someone who is related to that word) kissing (And maybe going further) with girlfriend-**

 _ **Darque: Haven't we all?**_

 **Raven: On my living room couch.**

 _ **Darque: Huh?**_

 **Raven: Ghoul was over at my place, and when I left to buy drinks at a convenience store near by, he called her in.**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven: I kicked them out.**

 _ **Darque: You're busy too, huh.**_

 **Raven: Yeah...**

 **Read and Review~**

* * *

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STORY...PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW IT.

\- Sasori x Sakura, we think.

\- High school AU

\- They prank someone (Ino?). They knocked her unconscious and dump her in a bathtub full of dye, or something.

\- Sakura says something about not really being friends with Ino and the others, and that they only want to be picked to go on an 'adventure', or something.

PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW/FIND IT!


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter THIRTEEN**_

It rained crimson that day.

The massacre committed included just the right amount of blood, just the right number of screams, as thought it was something they had done a countless number of times before.

There were those who had isolated for so long that they did not understand the value of life. Kakashi shifted his gaze between the Akasuna no Miki.

They were broken, and they were perfect. Perfect in every way required of a killing machine.

Unreadable.

Uncontrollable.

Powerful.

However, it wasn't their fault. They just simply didn't understand.

And so, labeled as monsters, their very creators had tossed them aside

To others, to society, they were monsters. It would be an eternal mystery. People yearned for perfect, and yet, they feared it.

Kakashi turned to Sasori who was watching his companions commit murder without a hint of disgust on his face. Sasori was a prodigious Puppet Master that turned people into puppets. He was as messed up as either of the children.

Perhaps that was why he could control them. He was the perfect puppeteer for a pair of broken marionettes.

Regardless what he had been through, Kakashi guessed he could consider himself fortunate. He had had friends and teammates who had gone through the same things he had, and they had managed to hold each other together while they slowly mended. The monster within him had managed to blend in with others, until it was barely noticeable.

Perhaps Sasori had been too unique. Perhaps there hadn't been others who understood him, no one who could match him to keep him chained down.

Gaara and Sakura were the obvious ones. They were crazy and insane and it was so obvious that they masked Sasori's subtle presence.

But Kakashi knew that he was gone as either of them. How else would he have been able to satisfy his monster companions enough to still be alive?

Even now, as they went about each other almost like a family, he knew they were just barely able to keep each other tied down with a single thread. One day, when any one of them snapped, the other two would follow, and once again, the world would come to fear Akasuna no Sasori, though this time, he would be flanked by a pair of monster who were his weapons of world destruction.

Then again, who was he to judge? Who was he to call others monsters and deduce how far into the unreturnable they had ventured?

* * *

Kakashi did not even have to do anything. He simply watched on with an unreadable expression. He glanced over at his Genin, gauging their reactions.

Sasuke's eyes were wide and full of fear and disgust but he did a good job of not looking away.

Naruto looked ready to puke, but he too kept watching.

Ami had a hand over her eyes and she was shaking.

Truthfully, Kakashi could not really blame her. The smell of blood and guts alone could make one hurl their breakfast.

Suddenly, with a shrill cry of fear, one of the men turned to the other end of the village and began running. A few others stared for a moment, as though they were processing that fighting was not their only option, before they too began to try and escape. Gaara was the first to notice and his sand shot out after them. He caught a man at the back and buried his neck deep. Grinning, he was about to crush him when there was a flash of metal and with a splatter of blood, the man's head fell off his body.

Gaara scowled and dropped the now headless man. "What?"

Zabuza perched himself on Gaara's sand, sword in hand. Haku stood beside him, senbon at the ready. "We'll take care of these cowards." It wasn't really an offer.

Gaara shrugged and promptly turned his back to them.

Soon, all that was left of Gato's men was a crimson man-made lake. Gato had stared on in speechless horror and fear as one by one, his men had been reduced into lumps of meat too crushed to be recognizable.

Then Sasori and Zabuza was onto him, right through the path their respective companions had carved for them.

* * *

Tazuna organized for a group of men to clear the bridge of bodies. Kakashi had his Genin team aiding with the removal of debris. Haku then arrived and quietly requested for everyone to move away from the bridge. A minute later, a huge water dragon rose out of the body of water right below.

However, even as Zabuza's water dragon swept over the bridge and washed away the blood stains, everyone knew that the metallic stench would linger for a while.

Sasori and Zabuza agreed to split Gato's wealth in half and managed to seal the deal without any more bloodshed.

They were both honorable shinobi. They would keep their word.

The two groups politely refused the nervous offers to house them and announced that they were planning to depart at sunrise to hunt down Gato's hideouts any men that might have escaped.

And like any veteran Missing Nin, they were gone long before dawn.

* * *

After raiding Gato's savings and taking everything takeable, Sasori, Zabuza and their respective companions stood over the cliff overlooking the Nami no Kuni.

"Well, that was a month of my life I will never get back." Sasori said.

Zabuza snorted. "I hate to say, but I agree." He slung his sword over his shoulder and glanced behind him, where Haku was showing Sakura how to make a flower ring. Gaara sat beside the girl, not participating but actually listening.

Sasori followed the man's line of gaze and blinked. "I never took Sakura to be the flower type." He murmured.

"Course." Zabuza hummed. "Living with you, I doubt she's ever seen a flower before, let alone touched one."

Sasori shrugged dismissively. "Contrary to what you might think, Sakura actually knows a lot about flowers."

"So you teach her how to make flower decorations?" Zabuza asked, then just for the sake of annoying the younger, added, "For your dolls?"

"They're puppets." Sasori narrowed his eyes "Also, the most 'flower' thing I've taught her was how to make one's insides melt."

Zabuza smirked. "Why am I even surprised." He jumped down and landed behind Haku. "We're going now."

The boy looked up and bowed his head. "Yes, Zabuza-san." He smiled at Sakura and Gaara. "You keep practicing, okay?"

Sakura's eyes widened and the corner of her mouth twitched just a little, forming a small smile. "Okay."

Sasori landed a second later and both Sakura and Gaara got to their feet.

"Unlike what I first thought, you're not too bad." Zabuza said. "If we ever cross paths again..." He trailed off and smirked.

Sasori returned a smirk of his own and nodded. "I look forward to that day as well." He made a gesture and Sakura and Gaara fell into step behind him. The moment he stepped into the trees, he felt Zabuza and Haku begin to walk in the other direction.

He was just about to move into the branches when he heard a single pair of footsteps and paused. Haku landed in front of him, expression unreadable.

"Sasori-san." He trailed off and took a deep breath. "To Zabuza-san, I am but a mere tool." He began. "I thought that was how it was to everyone like him. When I first saw you, I thought Sakura and Gaara were nothing but disposable puppets that happened to be a little more competent than the others." Haku smiled softly. "But I can now see how wrong I was. You care for them just like they care for you." He closed his eyes, expression completely relaxed. "I thank you for opening my eyes like that, because now I can see, that if someone like you can come to care for a pair of children, perhaps one day, Zabuza-san can come to care for me too."

He drew back and turned to Sakura and Gaara. He reached out and placed something in Sakura's hands. "Let's compare when we next see each other, okay?" He ruffled her hair and smiled at Gaara before he once again darted off into the trees, back the way he had come.

Sasori eyed the flower ring in a frozen Sakura's hands and smiled, just a little. "Come on." He said. "We need to find our next job."

* * *

 **Since we ended up killing Zabuza and Haku in EVERY SINGLE STORY WE HAVE, we decided to let them live here! Yay~**

 **Does anyone have any mission ideas for Akasuna no Miki? We're taking suggestions! (It'll be like a filler cause they need time to plan their next grand appearance...)**

 **Don't worry, Team Seven will be making more appearances in the future (Probably)**

 _ **Darque: Anyone play Aura Kingdom here?**_

 **Raven: This again?**

 _ **Darque: Yes. This again.**_

 **Raven: What happened to your exams?**

 _ **Darque: I forgot.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: I am advertising! PLAY AURA KINGDOM IT IS FRIGGING AWESOME!**_

 **Raven: Yes, yes.**

 **Read and review~**

* * *

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STORY...PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW IT.

\- Sasori x Sakura, we think.

\- High school AU

\- They prank someone (Ino?). They knocked her unconscious and dump her in a bathtub full of dye, or something.

\- Sakura says something about not really being friends with Ino and the others, and that they only want to be picked to go on an 'adventure', or something.

PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW/FIND IT!


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter FOURTEEN**_

Their next job, which happened to be self assigned by Sasori, took them back to the Wind country. Sasori was looking for a plant that grew in a particular area during a particular season and he saw no problem in taking a few days off to go collect them.

It annoyed Gaara too, so that was a plus.

The patch Sasori knew the herbs to grow in was a little away from the walls of Sunagakure. He had Sakura and Gaara keeps a lookout while he picked the plants. Once done, none of them complained when he led them to the border as fast as he could. Though none of them would admit it, none of them really liked lingering in the Wind country longer than they had to.

Of course, things never went the way he wanted them to and on their way out of the desert, they were found by a team from Suna.

The team itself probably wouldn't have been too much of a problem. A Genin team with an average looking Jonin, no one they couldn't handle.

It was the fact that it had been a Genin team, out of all ranked teams, it had to be the lowest. What irked him even more was that _he had actually tried to not get caught!_ He recalled the way Gaara had been messing around with his sand.

Sasori sighed and childishly kicked the side of the now dead Jounin. He caught sight of Sakura and Gaara digging into the pouches of the Genin and checked one of the Genin's scroll pouch. There was nothing too important, just a first aid kid and the standard puppet maintenance kit. He found a starter puppet in another scroll and scowled at the bad quality.

He had _made_ his first ever battle puppet.

Sakura, who had been digging through the bag of the Jonin, pulled back with a scroll in her hand. "Sasori, could we use this?"

Gaara curiously leaned in over her shoulder. "Scroll?"

Sakura nudged him. Gaara let out a low whine before he turned and began digging through the bag of another Genin a little off.

Sasori took the scroll offered to him and read over it. "An Invitation to...the Chunin exams." He hummed thoughtfully.

"Chunin exams?" Sakura asked.

"Like how you have graduation exams before you become Genin, once in awhile, Chunin exams are held in one Hidden Village or another. Genin teams from different villages compete to see who becomes promoted to Chunin."

Sasori was one of the exceptions that would be rare now, but not so much when he had been Genin. Like most shinobi his generation, he had been made Chunin through field promotion.

"So Genin fight each other to become Chunin?" Sakura asked.

Sasori nodded, the thought that Sakura and Gaara were also something like field promoteds slowing dawning on him. An idea suddenly hit him. "Would you like to go see?"

Sakura blinked. "See?"

"The first part is a written test, the second is a survival test. The third, if I recall, is a one on one fight that is viewable."

"We can?" Sakura asked.

"This year, the exams are being held in Konoha." Sasori said. "We'll just have to be careful that we don't draw the attention of any Suna shinobi."

Sakura jumped to her feet but froze at the first step she took. "May I go tell Gaara?"

Sasori patted her head, enjoying the way her hair felt beneath his fingers. It was such a pity that she spent her time running around fighting and getting all dirty. "Sure."

Sakura offered him one of her rare smiles then darted off.

* * *

Of course, Sasori had never expected it to be easy to sneak into Konoha. Being a shinobi village, the security levels were high. A henge would simply not do and would no doubt get them captured for questioning.

The three of them stopped at a civilian village almost half a day's travel away from Konoha, planning to get physical disguises. Sasori sent Sakura and Gaara off to do kiddy stuff because he needed to think. All three of them would have to dye their hair and he would have to think of something for Gaara's gourd...

He sensed a presence and sidestepped the person in front of him without looking up. He felt the air move and whipped around, kunai held out to the person that had grabbed his wrist.

He eyed the person in front of him who made no move to attack or anything and narrowed his eyes. "What a coincidence to see you here." He paused. "Itachi-san."

Uchiha Itachi nodded in greeting. "Hello, Sasori-san."

Sasori experimentally tugged at his wrist and Itachi let go. "What are you doing here?" Itachi asked.

Sasori carefully drew back. "I believe that is none of your business."

"Contrary to what you may think, I believe I have every right to suspect that you are planning something against Konoha." He paused. "Then again, perhaps not." Itachi looked at Sasori directly in the eye. "I thank you for sparing my brother."

"You brother..." Sasori blinked. "You mean Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke-kun?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Sasori shrugged. "That's what the girl was calling him." He sighed. "That was your brother?"

Itachi nodded.

"Good thing I changed my mind last minute, then."

"Changed your mind?"

Sasori smirked. "I thought he'd make a really pretty puppet." He casually dodged the kunai that came his way.

"And what are you doing here?" Itachi asked.

"Sakura wants to see the Chunin exams." Sasori admitted. "We're here to find a way to sneak in."

Itachi considered his answer for a few seconds before he smirked. "No need." He gestured towards a inn on the far end of the street. "Stay there for the night." He said. "I am due back from my solo mission tomorrow."

"You...Are you serious?" Sasori asked.

"Of course. I have no doubt I will be able to subdue you should you attempt anything." He flashed the missing nin a rare smile. "And I believe I owe you for...sparing my brother."

"You don't owe me anything." Sasori said. "That was me repaying what I owed. We'd be uneven all over again-"

"What happened during our first meeting does not count." Itachi cut him off. "That was...that does not count."

Sasori eyed the renowned prodigy of the Uchiha clan and slowly nodded. "Very well." He looked around. "I need to go hunt down the brats. I shall meet you at the inn."

* * *

 **So, Itachi's here...**

 **Raven: I can see what you are trying to do, Darque.**

 _ **Darque: Oh? What**_ **am _I trying to do, hm?_**

 **Raven: I can see the...air around Sasori and Itachi as clear as day.**

 _ **Darque: Air? What air?**_

 **Raven:...Let's change that to chemistry.**

 _ **Darque: Gosh, you have the eyes too.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: You shouldn't try fighting it. You should embrace it! The eyes of yaoi shippings are a gift from the heavens!**_

 **Raven: I'm gone.**

 _ **POOF!**_

 _ **Darque: MWAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA! (Dun worry, that's just Raven overreacting.)**_

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STORY...PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW IT.

\- Sasori x Sakura, we think.

\- High school AU

\- They prank someone (Ino?). They knocked her unconscious and dump her in a bathtub full of dye, or something.

\- Sakura says something about not really being friends with Ino and the others, and that they only want to be picked to go on an 'adventure', or something.

PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW/FIND IT!


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter FIFTEEN**_

Itachi looked up when he heard the knock on his door and placed his mission scroll to the side. "Come in."

Sasori slid the door open and stepped through. "We'll be staying here."

Itachi eyed the Suna Nuke-nin. "I believe I haven't not heard anything about this." He said.

Sasori shrugged. "It was a last minute decision." He said. "We'll pay half the room fee. It might get a little sandy, but don't mind us." He walked in like he owned the place, nudged Itachi's things away with his foot and dumped his belonging in the space beside the Uchiha.

"Where are Sakura-san and Gaara-san?" Itachi asked. He stuck out his foot and pushed Sasori's scroll away. "Keep to your half."

Sasori scoffed and took his time taking his scroll back. "Out getting food." He summoned a puppet and set out two sets of futon on his half. He sat down on the one further away.

Itachi hummed and turned back to his reading. Sasori summoned the content of his scroll and began working on his latest puppet. A few minutes later, they heard a tapping on the window glass. Sasori lifted his finger and opened it with a chakra string without even looking up. Sand pushed the glass open the rest of the way and pooled into the room. Itachi watched the sand bring itself together and Sakura and Gaara stepped out.

"If I recall, you said 'a little sandy." Even without his Sharingan, he could see the specks of sand that got caught in the wind coming in from the window.

"Did I?" Sasori took the bag Sakura held out to him and stuck his hand in to it.

"Hello Itachi-san." Sakura bowed. She held out a bag to him. Gaara grunted and nodded in his direction.

"Hello Sakura-san, Gaara-san." Itachi gratefully took the package and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

Sakura nodded. Gaara tugged on her wrist and the two of them sat on the last futon, between Sasori and Itachi. Itachi watched the two children bicker softly with each other about the best color of sand and was reminded of the times Sasuke picked silly fights with him just to get his attention.

The thought of Sasuke being driven to the point the two of them were currently standing sent stabs of pain through his chest.

However, Itachi did not blame Sasori for taking them away from Suna.

He had a good idea of what they would have ended up like had they stayed and children being used as weapons for the sake of a shinobi nation did not suit well with him either.

Regardless of how they were on the battle field or how much the bounty over their head was, they were still children.

* * *

Sasori sat down at the foot of Sakura and Gaara's shared futon so that he could look at Itachi. Sakura had fallen asleep a while ago and Gaara, while awake, had laid down beside the pinkette.

"I had nothing but bad feelings at the thought but I know I'll have to cross this bridge eventually." Sasori eyes Itachi with narrowed eyes. "How do you plan to smuggle us into Konoha?"

Itachi shrugged and Sasori sighed. "In case as the praises have finally gotten to your brain, I'll remind you that Konohagakure no Sato happens to be one of the most powerful of the hidden villages in the Elemental nations."

Itachi stared at him blankly, like _he_ had been the one to offer to sneak a group of Nuke-nin into his own village. Sasori huffed. Well, he had accepted, so perhaps that put him on the same boat.

Then again, if it happened to be a trap, Sasori knew Sakura and Gaara wouldn't have any qualms with adding another village to the list of places they had destroyed.

"I'm sure Gaara-san is more than capable of sneaking you past the gates." Itachi said. "I shall offer my place for the duration of your stay."

"And will the clan just simply accept that?" Sasori asked.

"Probably not." Itachi admitted.

"Feel like rebelling, Mister prodigious clan heir?" Sasori scoffed.

Itachi paused in thought before he chucked his calligraphy brush at him.

Sasori, probably used to things flying his way, caught it neatly with his chakra strings without splattering the ink. "Throwing things can be dangerous. What will you father say?" He held out the brush and Itachi took it.

"He will probably blow a blood vessel." Itachi said dismissively.

Sasori eyed the Uchiha. "Yeah." He smiled faintly. "We'll just mentally kill him off." He ruffled Sakura's hair, because Gaara would probably chop his hand of if he tried. "As many times as you want." He said. "He wouldn't know."

Itachi chuckled and Sasori didn't have to look up to know that his expression had lightened just a little.

* * *

The next day, Itachi told them of his plan as they packed up. He first turned to Gaara. "How long can you hold your form in sand?" He asked.

Gaara shrugged. "As long as I have chakra." He said.

Itachi nodded. "That will be long enough, then." He said. "Gaara-san, I need you to turn the three of you into sand." He pulled out a scroll. "And I shall seal you into this."

Sasori blinked. Sakura's eyes widened and Gaara coughed.

"What?" Sasori asked.

"It is as I said." Itachi replied. "I will seal your sand form into a scroll and carry you into Konoha."

"Would that work?" Sakura asked softly.

Itachi turned to her. "It is possible to seal water and the likes into a scroll." He said. "Theoretically, it should be possible to seal sand as well."

"So you want us to sit in your pocket while you walk past the guards." Sasori said.

Itachi nodded. "Simple, no?"

* * *

Gaara transformed the three of them into sand and the grains of earth piled itself into a small mound on top of Itachi's scroll. The Uchiha poked at the sand, a little curious, before he sealed it into the scroll and then tucked the rolled up scroll into his pouch.

He grabbed the rest of his equipment then quickly departed.

He set a rapid pace to Konoha and arrived as the sun had begun to set. At the gates, the handed the guard his mission papers and went to report to the Hokage. Once done with that, he announced his return to his mother, promised to listen to Sasuke's story of his first mission out of Konoha, before he excused himself to refresh before dinner.

He put his equipment away and changed out of his ANBU gear before he slipped out of the house and headed towards one of the empty houses located at the edge of the compound. Most were used as storages and he knew that not many people used them.

Once inside, he pulled out his scroll and summoned it's content. The pile of sand appeared in a puff of smoke and a second later, shifted and moved to form three figures.

Sasori shook his hair out, muttering under his breath. Sakura straightened her clothes and Gaara called his sand back into his gourd.

"You'll have to keep your chakra suppressed." Itachi told them. "While this house is far away from the center of the compound to attract too much attention, someone will come if one of you flares your chakra."

Sasori plopped ungracefully onto the tatami floor and sighed. "Yes yes."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Sasori."

Said red head nodded. "I know. I got it."

Itachi sighed. "Please keep in mind that we will all get in trouble should anyone find out." He said.

Sasori paused and nodded. "I know." He repeated. "I'm grateful you decided to help us anyways."

Itachi nodded and placed a scroll on the ground. "That should be enough to cover dinner and breakfast tomorrow." He said. "I have the next few days free and will come and see you when I can. The first round of the Chunin exams are to be held tomorrow and the finals are in three days time."

* * *

 **So, here's chapter fifteen...ye...**

 **They just sneaked in...ye...**

 **Dunno if the sand things works...ye...**

 _ **Darque: I am currently in exam period.**_

 **Raven: Yes, and that's why you should be revising.**

 _ **Darque: I know you know! I'm just telling our readers.**_

 **Raven: They do not need to know about your sad life.**

 _ **Darque: How do you know that?**_

 **Raven: Because I am usually on the receiving end of your rambling.**

 _ **Darque: Ignore him. Anyways, right now, I have this week of rest, before my exams start again.**_

 **Raven: So you should be taking this time to revise.**

 _ **Darque: I...am. Yes, I am.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: It's just that, right now, I am procrastinating.**_

 **Raven: Aren't you doing that all the time?**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STORY...PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW IT.

\- Sasori x Sakura, we think.

\- High school AU

\- They prank someone (Ino?). They knocked her unconscious and dump her in a bathtub full of dye, or something.

\- Sakura says something about not really being friends with Ino and the others, and that they only want to be picked to go on an 'adventure', or something.

PLEASE TELL US IF YOU KNOW/FIND IT!


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter SIXTEEN**_

The next day, Itachi came to see them a little past noon.

Gaara, who had been keeping watch the whole time with his sand eye, was, of course, the first to notice. His slight shift in posture warned Sasori of a change and a few seconds later he heard the door open as Itachi let himself in.

The Uchiha peeked into the room Sasori and his companions had decided to use as their bedroom.

"Itachi-san." Sasori nodded in greeting.

Itachi nodded. Back. "Sasori-san." His gaze lingered on Sakura, who were still sleeping, then Gaara, who was sitting by the girl with her head on his lap. "I believe you slept well?"

Sasori nodded. He reached onto the messy pile of scrolls on his work desk and tossed the one of top to Itachi. The Uchiha caught it and handed Sasori another.

"That should cover lunch, dinner and breakfast tomorrow." He said. "If you are willing, I have no missions tomorrow and if you wear a henge, I could treat you to lunch." He glanced out the window. "Unfortunately, I have border patrol today and I will have to depart soon."

Sasori hummed. "Maybe." He said. "I'll think about it."

Itachi nodded. "Stay in here. If something does happen, send me a message."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Sasori asked.

Itachi opened his mouth but Gaara cut him off.

"You can take some of my sand." He said.

Itachi turned to the boy. Gaara's gourd popped open and a trail of sand floated out. It moved towards Itachi and wrapped around his upper arm. The Uchiha moved his arm around a little and nodded to show that it wouldn't get in the way.

"If I have time, I will come and check on you again once I return." With that, he turned and left.

"Who does he think he is?" Sasori asked. "It's as though he'd a parent, or something!"

"I think Itachi-san is reliable." Sakura said.

"And I'm not?" Sasori asked.

Gaara shot him a look. "Huh?"

Sasori threw a kunai at him, not even caring that Gaara's sand crushed it. "Shut it, brat." He sighed. "Great. I'm stuck in a house in the Uchiha compound with a pair of annoying brats, not knowing when I'll be caught and captured for execution." He glared when Gaara rolled his eyes at him. "You'll be executed too, you know?"

"We'll be handed over to Suna." Gaara said. "And the moment we're over sand, no one'll stand a chance." He scoffed. "Not like I'll be caught in the first place."

Sasori sighed again.

Of course, his day got worse.

He was Akasuna no Sasori, after all.

* * *

Sasori was woken up from his short nap when he felt the vibrations of someone running down the corridor through the floor. He sat up just as Gaara slammed the door open and flew in. Sasori was about to make a snarky comment but Gaara beat him to it.

"Someone's coming."

Sasori tensed and slowly got to his feet. "This is not some joke to wake me up, right?" Still, he sent out his chakra to scan the area. Gaara sounded too panicked for it to be a lie.

"It's not." Sakura appeared at the door, her iron sand floating around her. "

Sasori located the chakra signature rapidly approaching. "Not Itachi." He said. "But definitely Uchiha."

"He's alone." Gaara said. "We could take him, no problem."

"We cannot kill an Uchiha in the middle of their compound." Sakura said. "Also, a fight will alert everyone in the vicinity. Not even we can face an entire clan of Sharingan users."

Sasori clicked his tongue and reached for his scroll. "We'll see what he wants. If he's hostile, we'll have no choice." He fixed Sakura and Gaara with each a look. "You guys didn't do anything to alert anyone, right?"

The two glanced at each other then shook their heads.

Sasori nodded. "Okay. Then Itachi can't blame us, cause we didn't do anything." He paused. "If we do get caught, we do not mention Itachi's name." He said. "We simply came here of our own free whim."

"And managed to get past all the guards like it was nothing?" Gaara asked.

Sasori nodded. "I doubt they'll question it if I say I was after the Sharingan." He pointed at his head. "I'm a crazy S-class nuke-nin from Suna who turns humans into puppets, after all."

Gaara scoffed and Sakura smiled.

They all heard a knock and Sasori blinked. "At least this Uchiha has manners."

"Itachi-san does too." Sakura said.

Sasori eyed her skeptically. "...Right..."

The door opened and they all heard feet hitting the ground as the person made their way along the corridor, then stopped in front of their room. The door slide open slowly and the Uchiha held out a kunai, eyes narrowed. He paused when he caught sight of them.

"Akasuna no Sasori." He glanced at Sakura and Gaara, who had positioned themselves casually on either side of the Puppet Master. "And your little minions."

Sasori scoffed. "Hear that?" He asked. "Even Uchiha-san over here thinks you're minions." However, there was no real bite behind his tone and he soon turned back to the Uchiha. "You know who I am, and yet, I don't know who you are..."

"Well, you're famous and you're on the bingo book and everything." The Uchiha said. "And while I have no idea what you're doing here, you know that this is Uchiha property and that you are trespassing, right?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "No, I just wandered here because the artistic building structures caught my eye."

The Uchiha blinked.

"Your Uchiha buddies won't be running here any time soon, will they?" Sasori narrowed his eyes just a little.

The Uchiha slowly shook his head. He raised his kunai a little before he sighed and straightened out of his stance. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm Uchiha Shisui." He said.

* * *

 **Okay...yeah...we have no idea...yeah...sorry...**

 **Warning: Little bit rushed...yeah...sorry...**

 _ **Darque: I have a math exam tomorrow.**_

 **Raven:...Then shouldn't you be asleep? It's like, three in the morning there, right?**

 _ **Darque: It's four in Japan.**_

 **Raven:...I don't tell and you don't tell.**

 ** _Darque: Deal._**

 **Raven: Still, you should sleep.**

 _ **Darque; You too.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque:...Right. I'll go sleep now.**_

 **Raven: Good girl.**

 **Read and Review~**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter SEVENTEEN**_

Sasori inspected the Uchiha before he shrugged and plopped himself back down on the floor. He reached for the puppet arm he had been fiddling with and turned pointedly away from Shisui. "That's fine, then."

"He-hey, hang on." Shisui marched over and stood over Sasori. "How did you get in? What are you doing here?"

Sasori looked up and eyed him, clearly annoyed. "Can't you just drop it?"

Shisui eyed him skeptically. "If you managed to sneak into Konoha without being noticed, there might be a breach in security and I'll have to inform Hokage-sama right away."

"Aren't you a prickly guy."

"Hey!" Shisui bit down on his lip. "Anyways, you might be one of those crazy nuke-nin after the Sharingan-"

"That was the excuse I was going to use if I was caught." Sasori paused. "Ops."

"It might do you well to clear your brain of all the fuse from the flowers you like to pick." Gaara called. "It'll be a problem if you lost any more screws."

"You, of all people, don't get to say that to me." Sasori glanced back up towards Shisui. "Anyways, what do you want?"

Shisui grit his teeth. "Tell me what you're doing here, or I _will_ report you-"

Sasori raised his hand, stopping him mid sentence. "I'm here to observe the chunin exams, okay?"

Shisui paused. "...Huh?"

Sasori eyed him. "Are all Konoha shinobi not only rude, but stupid as well?"

"You've only ever met one Konoha shinobi." Gaara called.

"I have met more." Sasori said defensively.

"But they're dead." Sakura said. "You cannot compare a living person to someone you've never even spoken to."

Sasori waved his hand dismissively. "And who's fault do you think that is." He turned to Shisui. "You know an Itachi?"

Shisui stiffened. "What-"

"You know him, right?"

"Course I do." Shisui snapped. "Tachi's the clan heir!"

"And you are close to him." Sasori said.

Shisui's eyes widened, having noticed his mistake.

"No matter." Sasori stood up. "Itachi snuck us in."

"What? Itachi..." Shisui narrowed his eyes. "You expect me to just believe that?" He raised his weapon.

"Itachi and I are...friends?" Sasori shrugged. "You can go ask him. He said he was going on border patrol. Gaara can track him for you."

Shisui tapped his chin. "Well, he does have patrol today and he did seem kind of busy. I saw him sneaking food from the kitchen..."

Suddenly, he grinned. "So you're Tachi-chan's friends."

Sasori nodded, feeling wary.

Shisui nodded. "Okay. That's nice. I didn't think Itachi-chan had friends." He patted Sasori on the shoulder. "And I never really noticed, but your minions are pretty cute." He body flickered over to Sakura and poked her cheek when she whipped around to look at him. "I mean, look. Adorable."

He moved back to avoid the sand. "Woah."

Gaara flenched his fist. "Stay away."

"Oh ho~" Shisui leaned in. "Don't be jealous. You're cute too."

Gaara growled and raised his hand. "I'll crush-"

"Gaara." Sakura murmured. "Don't."

Gaara eyed her for a second before he sighed and placed a hand on Sakura's head. "If you say so."

Sasori thoughtfully inspected them for a while before an idea hit him. "Are you free today, Shunshin no Shisui?"

Shisui turned to him in surprise. "Woah. How'd you know?"

Sasori eyed him. "You are pretty famous too." He paused. "Though not as cool as us."

Shisui scoffed. "You wish." He turned to him curiously. "Anyways, yeah, I'm free."

"I'll hire you." Sasori said. "Keep them occupied. I have work to do and I don't have time to take care of brats."

Shisui eyed him skeptically. "In case you haven't noticed, you are a brat to me too." He said.

Sasori eyed him darkly and Shisui waved his hands. "Just saying." He chuckled. "And I guess I'll accept your request." He grinned. "Come on, Sakura-chan, Gaara-chan, let's go play with Shisui-nii-chan~"

Sasori watched Sakura and Gaara chase after the Uchiha on a wave of sand and wondered if Shisui was an expectation among Uchiha or if Itachi was the strange one. He sighed and pondered why he hadn't thought of this sooner.

* * *

Itachi was, as expected, not pleased when he returned to find Shisui and Sasori talking like good friends.

His mood did not improve either when he found himself restrained for a split second with chakra strings and a bucket of natural made dye was dumped on him.

"Hello Tachi-chan!" Shisui called. He tugged Sasori to his feet after him and pulled the redhead over. "How was border patrol."

Itachi shook his head to get the dye powder out of his eyes and inwardly cringed at the red stains on his clothes. He thought for a second then grabbed his cousin by the head, childishly smearing the dye onto his face as well.

Being the smart little bastard he was, Sasori simply stepped back.

"Sasori." Itachi turned to him. "What is Shisui doing here?"

Sasori shrugged. "He just appeared and began pestering us." He said. "He's been very kind, though, entertaining the brats."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and turned back to his cousin. "What are you doing here, Shisui?"

"Oh, don't be like that, Tachi-chan." Shisui placed a hand over his chest. "I was simply curious as to why you seemed more happy than usual."

Itachi sighed. "They aren't here to do any harm." He said. "So I would appreciate it if you leave them be."

Shisui's eyes darkened and his expression shifted into a blank mask. "And how would you know they haven't simply used you to get into the village?" Shisui asked.

"If they do anything, I will take full responsibility." Itachi replied, not blinking an eye.

Shisui eyed him for a second before he grinned. "Very well, Tachi-chan. I shall be a good cousin and trust you." He waved his arms. "And besides, Sakura-chan and Gaara-chan are too cute to report.' He nudged Sasori. "And this one here isn't too bad himself. A little like you but nothing I can't fix." He ruffled Sasori's messy hair. "Come on, Sasori-chan. Watch me teach your little followers how to braid hair."

The Puppet Master shot Itachi a murderous look as he tried to struggle away from the older Uchiha. Itachi's look of amusement - "You too, Tachi-chan. In fact, you can be my model!" - died away at the speed of light.

Once, when he had been five, he had allowed Shisui to braid his hair.

Never again.

He would take the three Suna Nuke-nin out for lunch tomorrow and make it up to the Puppet Master then.

Itachi was gone in the blink of an eye.

He was a genius, after all.

He knew which fights to pick, and which to run from and deal with another day.

* * *

 **So, chapter seventeen~**

 _ **Darque: I have no idea if Shisui is OOC.**_

 **Raven: Me neither.**

 _ **Darque: I know that.**_

 **Raven: I know that too.**

 _ **Darque: Then what are you trying to say?**_

 **Raven: What are you trying to say?**

 _ **Darque:...Did something happen?**_

 **Raven: What? No. Of course not. Nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong.**

 _ **Darque: Okay. So what's wrong?**_

 **Raven:...Did you not read my previous words...chat...text...whatever thing?**

 _ **Darque: I did.**_

 **Raven: Then you should know that nothing is wrong.**

 ** _Darque: Exactly, so something is wrong._**

 **Raven: I have no idea how your logic works.**

 _ **Darque; Of course not. No mere peasant would understand the mind workings of a genius such as I.**_

 **Raven: You wanted to know what was wrong?**

 _ **Darque: Yes, tell me your troubles, mortal.**_

 **Raven: I was worrying about the state of your mind. I tried making a list of your future possibilities and I have a short list. You want to hear?**

 _ **Darque: Uh...**_

 **Raven: So, you could become a professional meddler or a professional sloth or a professional nagger or a-**

 _ **Darque: Sod off, mortal. See if this goddess ever listens to your troubles.**_

 **Read and Review~**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter EIGHTEEN**_

As promised, Itachi came to pick up Sasori, Sakura and Gaara for an outing the next day. The clan heir brought over a scroll full of disguises and they spent the morning trying to dye their hair color.

Itachi thought since they usually liked to stand out, it would be better if they settled for dull just this time. Finally, both Gaara and Sasori managed to change their blood red hair into a shade of brown so dark it looked black while Sakura settled for a dark shade of red that looked more brown.

The Uchiha then snuck them out from the compound in a scroll and resummoned them in a secluded corner of his favorite dango shop. He took them on a brief tour of Konoha before listing a few restaurant names. "I will be paying." He said. "So pick whatever you like."

"What do you think?" Sasori asked.

"Something sweet." Sakura said.

"Tongue." Gaara said at the same time.

Sasori eyed them blankly. "In case you missed it, we're here to eat lunch. Not snack," He looked at Sakura. "Or human." He turned to Gaara.

The Jinchuuriki scowled darkly. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't." Sasori replied. "You said 'tongue'. It could have been anything tongue."

Gaara opened his mouth to no doubt make a comment that would scar the civilian children running around nearby but Sakura beat him to it. "Dango." She said.

"Dango is still snack." Sasori said dismissively, looking ready to turn back to Gaara. However, Sakura did not look ready to give up just yet.

"Itachi-san eats dango for lunch." She said.

"Itachi does not count." Sasori said.

Itachi seemed to take offence to that. "And what does that mean?"

"It is exactly as I said." Sasori pushed back the urge to stomp his feet. "Why are you all ganging up on me?"

"It's because you suck." Gaara said.

"Because you are being unreasonable." Sakura said.

"It is you who is being rude." Itachi said.

Sasori slowly blinked and rubbed at the spot between his eyes. He took a deep breath. "We are in Konoha." He said, as calmly as he could. "Why don't we try something we can only eat here?"

"There is a tea shop down the street that sells Konoha's signature dango." Itachi said.

Sakura nods. "That sounds nice." She turned to Gaara. "Don't you think so?"

Gaara's eyes widened and he rapidly nodded. "I don't mind if you want to." He said quickly.

Sakura smiled.

"I believe the choice is obvious, Sasori." Itachi smirked. He was oozing smugness from every pore and Sasori felt the sudden urge to hit him. "Let's go, shall we?"

* * *

Sasori sat in the corner of booth, chewing on a dango stick and trying to list up the places he could stab to kill someone with it while trying to pretend he didn't know any of his companions.

Sakura and Itachi had ordered a huge plate of dango and once it had arrived, began eating it as quickly as they could without looking absolutely monstrous. Sasori had no idea how they even managed to act so posh and proper while doing so and decided that he did not want to know.

Gaara was stealing sticks of dango and piling it onto his own plate, passing them to Sakura when she ran out. He swatted away Itachi's suggestive fingers without even looking up and Sasori had a feeling the only thing stopping the Uchiha prodigy from using anything more than training honed speed was the fact that they were out in public.

It barely took them five minutes to clear the plate. After receiving a pointedly smug look from Sasori, Itachi, being the good, responsible, older of the two had, albeit begrudgingly, passed Sakura the last stick. Sakura blinked in surprise before she slowly took the stick.

"Thank you." She murmured.

Itachi simply nodded but when Sakura looked down to finish the stick, his eyes had softened, just a little.

After their promised lunch, Itachi led them back to the Uchiha compound, for he had a short delivery mission to a nearby village. He would be returning by the end of the day, though, so he agreed to accompany them to the Chunin Exams tomorrow. He handed them a package containing the dinner they had bought on their way back, promised to buy them breakfast in exchange for good behavior, and subtly threatened Sasori to sleep with an eye open.

The Puppet Master, who had, throughout the day, done things and acted the way he had fore the sole purpose of trying to catch Itachi acting in any way but the perfect Uchiha clan heir he pretended to be, had no idea what exactly he was being threatened for. Still, he tilted his head and turned to him with hooded eyes and a lazy smile that he knew infuriated others and had the honor of catching Itachi's eyebrow twitch.

Itachi gently said goodbye to Sakura and Gaara then turned to leave. Sasori walked out with him and at the door, met Itachi's glare with another smirk.

Itachi eyed him for another second before he smirked back. "See you tomorrow, Sasori."

The redhead paused, before he smiled, this time genuine. "Thank you for today." He said. "I'm sure the brats enjoyed it."

Itachi paused, no doubt having expected a smart comment. "It's fine." He finally said. "They are good children. They deserve it, once in awhile."

Sasori huffed. "If only they were that obedient all the time."

Itachi looks at him directly in the eye. "You like them." He said. It was a simple statement.

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "I've kept them, haven't I?"

Had Itachi been anyone else, he would have rolled his eyes. Instead, he simply nodded. "I see." "Good luck." Sasori murmured.

Itachi nodded. "Thank you." He slipped on his sandals and checked his pouch. "I will be back tomorrow morning."

Sasori watched the Uchiha leave before he turned and slipped back into their temporary hideout. He had no idea what exactly Uchiha Itachi was to him. It had been out of pure coincidence that they had met and even now, years after their initial meeting, neither were willing to breach the topic.

Still, it was nice to have allies.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter eighteen.**

 _ **Darque: T** **his is an update from** **Japan!**_

 **Raven: Yay~**

 _ **Darque: Currently, I am sitting next to Raven, in house! It's been almost half a year since we last saw each other!**_

 **Raven: I know right? Because it's been a while and we're both pretty excited, I'll leave all the things I wanted to complain about for another day.**

 _ **Darque: That's a good boy.**_

 **Raven: I'll bundle up everything I planned to say and dump it on you tomorrow.**

 _ **Darque: You suck.**_

 **Raven: I thought I was a good boy?**

 _ **Darque: Not anymore.**_

 **Raven: Anyways, Darque's** **already in her summer holidays and mine will start around the 20th of July.**

 _ **Darque: However, I have a lot of things I have to do while I'm over here, so updates might be a little slow. We'll try, though, so bare with us :)**_

 **Read and Review~**


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter NINETEEN**_

When Itachi slipped into the Akasuna no Miki's temporary hideout the following morning, everything was quiet. He could sense the chakra of his three guests, though, so he knew that it wasn't a case of rule breaking. He toned down his own chakra even more and slipped in.

He traced the chakra signatures lingering around and came to a stop outside the room the three of them shared. He raised his fist to knock but changed his mind last second and instead, he slid the door open as soundlessly as he could.

The first thing he saw was a surge of sand coming his way and barely had a second to jump away. He sensed a single chakra signature, which he recognized to be Gaara's, flare and a sudden pressure loomed down on him. He spiked his own chakra as much as he could without alerting anyone in the area and felt the weight lessen a little. He jumped to avoid the next tendril and only war honed instincts save him from the kunai that came at him from behind. He knocked the attack back and whirled around to catch the next swipe with his own blade.

"It's not nice to enter unannounced." Sasori told him. He shoved one last time before he pulled back.

"Hn." Itachi placed his own kunai into his pouch and glared at the smug redhead. He frowned at the sandy room. "You are going to clean that up before you leave."

Sasori eyed him skeptically before he turned to Gaara, who was perched on the table, hand raised and pointed at them. "That's your job."

Gaara's glare intensified and he raised his hand. "Maybe I'll just get rid of both of you at once."

That is all the warning the two of them recieve before the sand came at them again. Itachi grabbed Sasori before he could fly down the corridor and landed the two of them on the ceiling.

"What was that for?" Sasori snapped. "Changing sides?"

Itachi could not tell who it was directed at. "I can't have you spreading more sand around the house." He said calmly. "How do you stop him?"

"What makes you think I know?" Sasori asked.

"This doesn't seem to be the first time he's attacked you like this." Itachi pointed out.

Just then, the door to the toilet was slammed open and Sakura marched out. She glanced up towards the ceiling and blinked at the in confusion. "What are you doing up there?" She asked.

"She stops him." Sasori told him.

"Hn." Itachi replied.

Gaara appeared at the door. "Sakura!"

The pinkette turned to Gaara. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Gaara flaunted over to her side and hovered over behind her. "They started it." He said.

"Did they?"

As if on cue, Sasori nudged Itachi. "It's safe." He said. He detached his feet from the ceiling and landed in front of Sakura. Itachi followed and did the same.

"You done with your fit?" Sasori drawled.

Gaara sneered at him from over Sakura's shoulder, so that she didn't see.

"What were you doing?" Sakura repeated.

"Nothing." Gaara said. "Just warming up." He nudged Sakura towards their room. He raised his hand as they went, the sand in the area moving towards him at his silent command.

"For what?" Sakura asked. She wordlessly ducked when the sand in their room flew back into Gaara's gourd.

"For the day." The door slammed just behind them.

Sasori childishly kicked the door.

"What...was that?" Itachi asked.

"The usual." Sasori replied. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "When does the exams start again?"

"Soon." Itachi said. "We aren't allowed to observe or interfere but we are allowed to wait at the exit."

"Can we like, not wear the disguise?" Sasori asked. "It's stupid."

Itachi held back the urge to sigh. "Of course, if you don't mind being identified and possibly attacked." He paused. "Please restrain yourselves from attacking anyone." He said. "After all, I _am_ a shinobi of Konohagakure."

Sasori hummed. "Okay. No disguises it is." He turned to the Uchiha. "Wait here. I'm going to go gather the brats."

"You won't be attacked?" Itachi asked curiously.

Sasori waved his hand. "He's done for the day." He said. "And he doesn't try anything in front of Sakura." He threw the door open and stormed in. "Time to go, brats." He called. "Or we'll go in hungry." The door slammed shut again.

Itachi blinked before he sat down on the couch. He had a feeling he would be waiting for a while.

* * *

It took Itachi and Shisui working together to sneak out Sasori, Gaara and Sakura and their seemingly combined efforts to have a fight picked with them. They seemed to have taken the 'No fighting unless attacked' thing to heart, and instead worked on trying to have a fight picked with them.

However, Sasori had agreed that any fights should come after they had finished watching the Chunin exams and the three of them claimed that they were working together to tone it down.

Neither Itachi nor Shisui wanted to admit it but the three of them seemed to know how stay off the radar. The walked right past a group of Konoha Shinobi without turning any eyes whatsoever.

"We are S-class Nuke-nin." Sasori had said.

On the way, Itachi and Shisui explained the layout of the second part of the exams, which was basically a survival test. The teams were sent out into the Forest of Death with one scroll from an original two pair set. They were to find both scrolls and arrive at the tower at the middle within five days. It was an effective way to make sure that at least half the competitors dropped out.

"I heard we have a few promising participants today." Shisui said. "There are three rookie teams from Konoha, two of which are made up of clan heirs. The third, which is Sasuke-chans, has a civilian girl in it but that's that." He hummed. "I think there was also a pretty impressive team from Suna." He grinned. "You might know them, right?"

"Who was it?" Sasori asked, clearly not interested.

"Some Temari girl." Shisui said. "And her brother, Kankuro."

Gaara tensed and Sakura slowly turned to look at Shisui. The Uchiha noticed and trailed off.

"Temari of Suna?" Sasori asked.

Itachi nodded.

"Aren't we lucky?" Sasori muttered.

"What?" Shisui asked. "You actually know them?"

"We all do." Sasori said. "They are, after all, the elder children of the Fourth Kazekage and the older siblings of Gaara."

* * *

 **We have no idea if it's possible that Shisui, or anyone, in fact, didn't know, but let's just say it is for the sake of this story. Besides, people might happen to forget to link Gaara, a S-class missing nin traveling around with a S-class Kage-killer, as the son of a Kage.**

 _ **Darque: So, I went to a book store today.**_

 **Raven: I know. I tagged along, remember?**

 _ **Darque: And I bought a lot of books.**_

 **Raven: I know. You made me pay for them, remember?**

 _ **Darque: I had to catch up with all the manga I can't buy in HK. I think I might need an extra luggage to carry it all back.**_

 **Raven: I know. _I_ was the one that carried it all back, remember?**


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter TWENTY, the Past**_

 _ **BECAUSE**_

Three months after their departure from Suna, Sasori brought Sakura and Gaara along on his most recent mission, not as scouts or background figures, but as actual fighting forces.  
The mission itself was easy enough , they were to dispose of a handful of Bandits bothering a civilian village. The mission and the reward was nothing too significant but Sasori thought they should start simple. People did say easing in was important. He needed the action to be slow too, so that he could observe.

He had known that both Sakura and Gaara were out of their age league. Training under Kages tended to do that to people and training from a young age embedded a certain outlook when faced with real combat.

Those taught to not fear death from a young age were so much more fearsome on the battlefield.

All Sasori had given them were brief information on their targets and orders on who to kill. He then concealed himself with a Genjutsu and pulled away from the immediate battlefield. Everything else had been left up to the two.  
The first thing he had noted was that both children had been taught and had remembered the most logical way of taking out a group larger than them. Even Gaara, who didn't seem to be able to do anything without being told, had the most basics of casting an ambush hammered into him. The two of them concealed themselves above the main path the bandits were due to pass, a move Sasori approved of.

Truth be told, the Puppet Master wasn't expecting much. Of course, he had hoped that the two would be competent enough to get the job done without being squeamish about blood or death and without causing too much of a mess.

What he hadn't been expecting was a massacre.

Ten seconds into the fight and all that was left of the bandits were and severed limbs and a man made crimson puddle.

Gaara's usually slouched and automatically submissive form had straightened and he was licking his bloodied hand, an almost gleeful smile on his face.

Sakura was curiously pawing at one of the dead shinobi and after a few seconds, she raised her hand. All the metallic equipment the bandits had on them flew out from hidden compartments and pouches to float around Sakura. The pinkette reached out her hand and neatly swept them out of the air and stowed them away into her own bags. Gaara watched over as she gathered the last of her iron sand together and then slipped it under her clothes again.

"What now, Sakura?" Gaara asked quietly.

Sakura glanced around the area before she took Gaara's hand and began leading him towards the undercover of the trees. Sasori approved of their actions and joined them when they stopped at the foot of his tree. "I must say, I am impressed."

Gaara's eyes widened and his eyes glowed eerily under the blood on his face, which had splattered him when he had crushed a shinobi that had gotten a little too close to his liking.

Sakura caught the way his sight lingered and turned to the younger redhead. She reached into her pouch and under Sasori's curious haze, pulled out a piece of cloth. She then began wiping at the crimson marks on Gaara's face. The boy had a split second to look indignant before Sakura began to scrub at his face.

Sasori watched in amusement for another few moments before he cleared his throat. "We should get going."

Gaara used Sakura's split second of distraction to pull away. He ignored Sakura's quiet protests and ran a hand through his hair. Sakura frowned a little and Sasori sighed at being completely ignored. He began walking away from the mess, tapping the two children as he went.

Gaara jumped at the contact, his change of character gone as though it had never happened. Sakura shot him what he thought was an annoyed look-he couldn't tell due to his blank expression but the two of them stepped in line behind him.

Sasori decided he quite liked this feeling, because he thought this might just become something they became known for.

* * *

One day, something went wrong. The three of them had entered a trading town in the Land of Fire. Sasori had dropped his brats off to scout out information for their next job while he went to hand in their latest mission in exchange for the money.

All he knew was that he had felt a tremendous amount of chakra he just knew belonged to Gaara.

He had arrived at the sight of a significant battle after being alerted by the tremendous pressure of chakra to see a bloody Gaara crouching protectively an equally bloody Sakura who had an dazed look in her eyes. Standing a little off and the landing point of Gaara's murderous glare was a young shinobi wearing the typical Konoha ANBU gear. Lying at his feet were a pile of men, all looking very dead.

Had this been another day, Sasori would have whooped at the possibility of finding something useful on them but at this moment, all he had been able to focus on was Sakura's haunting look and Gaara's bloodlust. Sasori had known the Konoha shinobi had noticed his presence; he hadn't exactly tried to conceal it. Still, he moved faster than he ever had, the clang of kunai echoing around the eerie alley as the Konoha shinobi whipped around in the last split second to block the blow.

"Seems like you're having fun without me." Sasori strengthened the the power behind the blade. While fairly confident in his skills, it wasn't everyday he challenged someone into a close distance fight. Still, he felt his blood burning and it was a familiar and refreshing emotion. He glanced over his shoulder to check on the brats before shoving down harder, forcing the Konoha shinobi take a step back. The Puppet Master skillfully slipped in between the ANBU and the two brats, covering them with his frame.

"I think you are misunderstanding something." The ANBU's voice further convinced Sasori that whoever it was, this person wasn't any older than him.

"Misunderstanding what?" Sasori reached behind him, an eye on the enemy, and slipped out the scroll containing the Third Kazekage. In a split second, he had the scroll open in front of him and chakra at his fingertips, ready to summon any second.

"I did not attack the children." The ANBU dropped his weapon and raised both his hands. Sasori noted the distance it would take a skilled shinobi to flick the blade back up to his hand with a foot and took two steps forward to limit the chance.

"And yet, they look like they took a bath in a bucket of human intestines." Behind him, he could hear the muffled shuffling of clothes as Gaara helped Sakura to her feet. The sand lying around the area began moving at once, circling the ANBU and the S-class criminal. "Perhaps you would like to explain what exactly happened." He said. "If you were chasing a group of bandits and happened to involve a pair of brats, I think you are clearly unfit to be an ANBU."

Something shifted in the ANBU's posture and his tense arms relaxed completely. "Is is your children that were being chased by these men."

Sasori eyed the bodies on the floor and thought that if the man before him had been just a little less dignified, he would have nudged the closest body with his foot. Instead, his mind began whirling, quickly putting together the pieces. The bodies lying at the ANBU's feet had clean marks. Two had deep cuts to their throats while one looked distinctively burned. A couple of others were sporting gaping holes in their chests. However, the bodies lying further away were barely distinguishable. Some had crushed legs and he saw a few detached limbs lying around. He heard Gaara let out a whimper that sounded like affirmation and he slowly lowered his kunai.

Sasori slowly lowered his hand and began walking backwards until he was right in front of a shivering Gaara. "We're leaving." He said, over his shoulder. "Go grab our things from the inn."

Gaara let out a soft gasp and Sasori distantly noted that the boy was covered in enough blood to look like a psycho. It didn't matter, though, because they were leaving this instant. "Just don't kill anyone." He paused. "Try not to."

Gaara nodded, eyes wide, and Sasori gently took Sakura from the boy and shifted her into one arm. Sakura let out a groan of protest and struggled against him but when he didn't let go, she collapsed against him, breathing ragged.

"I'll watch her." He said. "Hurry." The Ichibi Jinchuuriki vanished in a swirl of sand.

"You are leaving?" The ANBU asked.

This guy was either dumb, was playing stupid, or knew nothing about being a Nuke-nin.

"These guys were after the brats for a reason." Sasori said. "We cannot afford to gather attention." Especially when they were so close to Suna. _And we can't risk catching attention so close to a shinobi village._

The ANBU let out a soft, thoughtful hum. "And you expect me to let you go just like that, Akasuna no Sasori?"

In a split second, Sasori had his scroll back in front of him. With a careful eye on the ANBU, he shifted so that Sakura was balanced on his hip and he draped his cloak over her shoulders. All this time, the ANBU hadn't moved and Sasori had the distinct feeling that he didn't have any intentions on attacking them.

True to his thoughts the ANBU reached down in slow motions and picked up his kunai. Standing so that his notions were clearly visible, he placed it back into his pouch.

"There are human traffickers running around this area." He said. "They are after those with exotic colors and I believe children would be somewhat of a big catch." He inclined his head at Sakura, who was trying her best to keep her eyes open. "You may want to keep a close eye on them."

Sasori narrowed his eyes before nodding softly. "I see." He narrowed his eyes. "You know who I am, and yet, I don't know who you are."

Sasori hadn't been expecting a reply, bit to his surprise, the ANBU slipped off his mask after a moment of consideration. "Itachi." He said. "Uchiha Itachi."

And Sasori just could not bring himself to be alarmed, because he knew this would be the beginning of something twistedly amazing.

* * *

Once Gaara had returned, Itachi wordlessly accompanied them to the borders of the Fire country then gave them instructions to the closest trading town where there was sure to be room to spend the next few days.

No other words were exchanged and neither looked back as they sped off in opposite directions. Sasori clutched a shivering Sakura to his chest while slowing down enough for Gaara to hobble as quickly as he could after him. They saw the lights of the town after a while of travelling. Sasori got them a room under the aliases he remembered using all those years ago when he had entered Sakano Village, just a few days after they had defected from Suna. The state of the two children won them over enough sympathy and Sasori was given supplies for free. He turned down the offers to help with the treatment of injuries and locked them into their inn room.

He filled the tub with water and washed the two before he carefully cleaned and wrapped their injuries.

Apart from wound, Sakura had hand shaped bruises on her wrist and neck, where someone had probably grabbed her. Gaara had a mark on his cheek from what he thought was a backhand blow. He gave them an ice pack for those.

Sasori knew the power held behind Gaara and Sakura's sand and iron sand walls. He knew that it wasn't an easy feat to get past them and also knew that there were barely a handful of people strong enough or fast enough to do so. From this, he knew that whoever it was that was after them, knowing who they were not or otherwise, was a formidable opponent. He could think of plenty of people who had grudges against them but he was sure that none of them knew their identity. He tried to pull out information from the two about their attackers but both of them refused to speak about the incident.

The one word they ever shared with him had been 'Snake', and Sasori had decided that this was territory to be crossed another day.

No one questioned why his fights had been a little more bloodier that day and Sasori was glad about that, because even he didn't know why he felt anger burning in the pits of his stomach.

* * *

Everything changed after that.

Sakura withdrew on herself. Her iron sand made more appearances than before and she often ended fights before the opponent had even drawn a weapon. Her eyes, which had already been difficult to read, became even more concealed and while she became even more obedient, she also became more distant. Her reaction to death became nonexistent and she followed Sasori's orders to the letter, no matter how cruel and inhumane they were

Gaara marked himself one the forehead with a word Sasori found very ironic, proudly showing of his new branding to the world.

'愛'.

 _Love_.

Everything he did, every person he killed, was out of this twisted form of love he had for Sakura and Sasori.

What Sasori had come to label as Gaara's dormant personality, the one that surfaced during battle, rose to the surface and became his permanent mask. He lashed out at the smallest of danger and his kill count soon rose to numbers Sasori couldn't not keep track of. The boy's shy, submissive personality vanished into the tide of bloodlust.

Sasori found monsters at his hands. Driven by circumstances unknown to him, they became his limbs. Together, they carved their path up to the top. They slaughtered those who tried to run and crushed those who tried to stand up to them. Then, from atop the mountain of bones and blood, they screamed their name to the world.

They were the Akasuna no Miki, the demons that soaked the sand crimson with the blood of their enemies. They had the power and the ability to take down entire nations. They had deepened the pool of blood around their ankles and it had seeped from the sand into the grasslands and the forests and valleys.

Sasori wasn't satisfied just yet, though. No; while he did not want to rule over the world, he wouldn't stop until he had stained the world with the blood on his hands. Sakura and Gaara were weapons of world destruction and he was the wielder. Together, they would taint the world into seeing the view they saw through their eyes, because they wanted to prove that they weren't the ones that were wrong.

Then and only then did they feel even just a little relieved, because they had finally managed to take their first step into their journey of self.

* * *

Gaara had never had a nightmare.

He knew that it was a frightening or unpleasant dream but to dream one had to sleep and he could not sleep, so there.

However, if nightmares were frightening vision of things they feared could happen or haunting memories of something that had occurred, he could relate to that.

Sasori had told him that this was called a 'living nightmare' and this, Gaara knew very well.

Since he had been small, he had been haunted by the scornful faces and the hateful words of the villagers he had been training to fight for. His own father's guards had been sharing hurtful words behind his back, not that they knew he knew. Even his own family had kept their distance, banding together in his presence like he was an enemy.

The two people who had made him feel _normal_ had been Yashamaru, his uncle, and Sakura.

There had been a time before Sakura had been introduced to him that Yashamaru had been his world. His uncle had been the one person to smile at him and never show any hatred.

Then, when he had been three, Sakura had been introduced to him and he clearly remembered that day.

 _Accompanied by Yashamaru, Gaara entered his father's office. "Gaara."_

 _That was all the greeting he was offered and the boy had come to expect no more. He simply dropped respectfully into a crouch. His uncle moved to stand beside his father, leaving him to face his parent alone. The adults shared a few words and Gaara was trying to listen to what they were saying when he sensed another presence in the room. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he looked towards the corner of the room._

 _There was a girl sitting there. While hidden by the shadows, he could clearly make out her pink hair and her glowing green eyes. He let out a soft gasp when the girl looked up and locked eyes with him._

 _Both his father and Yashamaru looked up and the Kazekage let out a thoughtful hum. "I thought you had left, Sakura-san."_

 _The girl stood up and gracefully smoothed out her clothes. Gaara noted that she didn't look any older than him._

" _I said 'perhaps', Kazekage-sama." The girl, Sakura replied. "Otou-sama is requesting my presence."_

 _The Kazekage nodded before he stood up. He approached Gaara and stopped behind his son. "Sakura-san, I introduce you to my son, Gaara."_

 _Sakura turned her green eyes from Rasa to Gaara, eyes just as blank and as emotionless as before. "Hello, Gaara-san."_

" _He-Hello." He suddenly began to feel subconscious and he gripped the hem of his shirt, wishing he had his teddy bear with him._

" _I believe you have heard from you father?" The Kazekage asked._

 _Sakura nodded. "Yes."_

 _Rasa cleared his throat. "Then I believe I can leave him to you?"_

" _Of course, Kazekage-sama." The girl dropped into a crouch and lowered her head._

 _The Kazekage nodded before returning to his seat. "From now on, Sakura-san will be taking care of you, Gaara."_

 _It took him a few seconds to realize what exactly his father had said. He turned to look at Yashamaru, who had his displeasure written all over his face but his uncle did not say anything. "Ye-Yes, Father."_

 _The Kazekage eyed him firmly before he waved his hand in a sign of dismissal. "Yashamaru, I would like to speak with you."_

 _Sakura pushed off the wall she had been leaning on and led the way of the of the office. Gaara hesitated, before stumbling after her firm steps._

" _Now, Gaara-san, is there anything you have planned today? Is there anything you must take care of?"_

 _Gaara jumped and quickly shook his head. "Um, no."_

 _Sakura paused and glanced over at him. "If that is the case, would you mind accompanying me to my father's office?" She asked. "There is something I must take care of before I am free."_

* * *

 _He found out later that day that Sakura was the daughter of the previous Kazekage. However, the brief signs of respect his father had show the girl had come not only from the knowledge of her heritage b_ ut the knowledge that the girl was more skilled any might expect with her age and size.

 _After witnessing Sakura and the Third's interaction, Gaara was left confused. Yashamaru had told him that usually, family was about love and communication. However, Sakura and her father were just like him and Rasa. Related only by blood, they stood eye to eye, respectful and yet, waiting for the other to show a hint of weakness_.

 _With a polite nod that a subordinate might show a leader he respected Sakura left the room and Gaara quickly followed, not risking a look behind him in case the piercing eyes were boring into his back._

 _As if knowing what he had been thinking, Sakura led him right out of the Third's office and towards the park Gaara had been wanting to go to for a while._

" _Yashamaru-san said you enjoyed it here." Sakura said quietly. "We can spend the rest of the day here."_

 _Gaara nodded faintly, not knowing what to do or say in front of a girl that was even harder to read than his own father. "Tha-thank you." He said instead._

 _Sakura simply nodded and led the way through the gates. Gaara flinched when all the eyes in the area instantly turned towards him but Sakura slowed her pace a little and when Gaara stopped so he didn't run into her, she looked over her shoulder and smiled faintly at him. "What would you like to do?"_

 _Gaara eyed the sandpit but stopped himself before he had taken a step._

 _Someone was with him. If Sakura stepped into the sandpit or even hovered near it, he wouldn't be able to control his sand. Besides, Sakura wa the former Kazekage's daughter. Killing her, even if unintentionally, would surely result in punishment._

 _Sakura, who had paused when Gaara had frozen, turned to him. "The sandpit, yes?"_

 _Gaara quickly shook his head. "Uh, no. It's fine."_

 _Sakura eyed him before she began marching towards the sandpit. "There is nothing wrong."_

" _No! Wait!" Gaara raised his hand and he heard fearful screams around him. He let out a wail when he saw that the sand had reacted to his panic and was swooping towards Sakura. He closed his eyes._

 _However, the blood and the pained scream cut short did not come._

 _When cracked open his eyes, he saw Sakura standing there like nothing was wrong and his sand lying lifelessly on the ground. Something black was marching along the ground and mixing into his sand, slowly turning it shades darker._

Just like his father.

" _There is nothing wrong." Sakura repeated. She then marched up to him and for the first time, stepped within armsreach. Gaara's sand shield popped up automatically but Sakura's black sand pushed it aside and held it away without so much as a glance from her. "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself and I can most certainly look after you as well." She paused before she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder._

 _Gaara gasped. The only person to ever touch his was his father, because his father had gold dust controlling abilities, just like Sakura with her black sand. Sakura either did not notice or pretended not to notice. She gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze and leaned in a little closer. Gaara noticed that she wasn't as tall her her aura first made her appear. She was around his height, maybe just a little shorter._

" _When you are with me, you are not the Fourth's son and I am not the Third's daughter. You are simply Gaara and I am simply Sakura." She took his hand. "And Gaara does not have strange sand controlling abilities." She smiled, this time a little wider. "He is simply Gaara and nothing more."_

* * *

And that had been the day Gaara had shifted the center of his world. When Yashamaru had attacked him years later in an attempt to kill him, he had felt nothing. Sakura had been right there beside him, carrying the man to his father's office once he had disable him and knocked him unconscious.

Two days later, before Yashamaru had waken up, he had left Suna with Sakura and Sasori, never to look back.

So when the men had attacked them, using strange machines to block Sakura's control over the iron sand and holding her hostage, Gaara hadn't hesitated.

He had killed them and would have massacred the rest had the shinobi from Konoha not arrived to do it for him.

Because what was wrong with defending one's life?

* * *

 **Sorry, this one was slightly rushed there may be mistakes. If you find one that you cannot make sense out of, please tell us and we'll fix it.**

 _ **Darque: I love ice cream.**_

 **Raven: Me too. Though what's with the sudden statement?**

 _ **Darque: I'm eating some right now. My favorite is cookies and cream.**_

 **Raven: Oh. Well, mine is Rocky Road.**

 _ **Darque: I like that too, though Cookies and cream is still the best.**_

 **Raven: Have you been living under a rock? Of course Rocky Road is the best.**

 _ **Darque: Cookies and cream.**_

 **Raven: Rocky road.**

 _ **Darque: Cookies and cream and that's final! Read and Review~  
**_ **Raven: Hey! You can't just-**

 **(RAVEN HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED ((BECAUSE HE DOESN'T AGREE THAT COOKIES AND CREAM IS THE BEST)))**

 **Read and Review~**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter TWENTY ONE**

They arrived a little later than planned due to their late departure. It was only Itachi and Shisui;s presence that let them past the crowd of people gathering around the entrance, eagerly waiting to see which teams passed on the first day.

They entered the waiting area, which turned out to be the arena the finals would take place in, and looked for a seat where they would have a clear view of the doorway which the passed teams would walk through.

"Tachi-chan was up all night researching." Shisui whispered, clearly amused and meaning to be heard. "Because his brother, Sasuke-chan, is in the exams."

Sakura paused and Gaara blinked. "Sasuke?" The redhead asked.

Shisui nodded. "You know him?"

"We met him on a mission." Sakura offered. "Sasori wanted to make him into a puppet."

"Hm, nice to know." Shisui shot Itachi a worried look.

"He knows, if you're interested." Sasori said. "Certainly wasn't pleased."

Itachi shot them a look then gestured towards a row of seats.

"I am merely stating the truth." Sasori walked past him and sat down on one of the chairs like he owned the place. Sakura and Gaara sat down on either side of him and that was all Itachi needed to see that no matter how they acted, they didn't feel completely at ease. He sat down next to Sakura and Shisui plopped down next to him.

"What's the average time an average team takes to pass this thing?" Sasori asked curiously.

"Most arrive on the final day." Shisui said. "Some lucky ones might arrive on the third or fourth day while the second and first are usually for those who are very skilled"

"He doesn't know." Sakura murmured.

"He doesn't." Itachi agreed. Shisui's protest was ignored. "Though I cannot really blame him. It really depends on a lot of factors."

Sasori shrugged, like it was of no concern to him, which it wasn't.

"Well, we're not exactly here to see who passes and who fails." He tilted his head and leaned forward on his arms. "I was merely curious as to how one was supposed to judge if a Genin was worthy of the title Chunin."

* * *

So far, things had been going good. However, these kind of things never lasted for them and Sasori had no idea why he had expected thing to go well just this once.

Around an hour and forty five minutes into the exams, the first team, which happened to be Temari and Kankuro's team, marched through the gates. Itachi flicked his finger briefly, the only signal that he had cast a genjutsu, and Sasori watched the Suna sibling march right past without noticing anything, their third teammate, some boy he didn't know, stumbled after them.

He curiously turned to look at Gaara and Sakura, who followed the pair until they had vanished into the resting rooms.

Sakura's eyes were blank as sever but Gaara looked like he was shivering just a little.

"You okay?" Sakura asked softly.

Gaara nodded, eyes narrowed. "I really want to crush them." He said, just as quietly.

Sakura hummed. She reached over Sasori and placed a hand over the Jinchuuriki's. Instantly, Gaara's clenched fists loosened.

Sasori decided to allow the two to keep their linked hands on his lap and instead turned towards the doors again. "I believe the next team might take a while." He said.

Shisui nodded, looking just a little shocked. "That was really fast." He agreed.

A couple of hours passed without any movement. Itachi and Sasori began a debate about the use of chakra strings. Shisui moved to crouch in front of Sakura, trying to get her to laugh. Gaara watched the Uchiha with an amused expression in his eyes as he got more and more frustrated that the only thing Skrua did was look blankly at him.

Just as Sasori had been about to bring forth his trumpcard in this debate, he felt a chill run down his spine. Both Sakura and Gaara froze and Itachi and Shisui both turned to looked towards where the forest was, the only thing blocking their view being the walls of the arena.

"What-" Shisui got to his feet, instantly alert. "No-That's-"

"You know who this chakra belongs to?" Sasori asked. He too got to his feet.

Itachi nodded, eyes wide. Sasori thought he could detect a hint of panic in his onyx gaze but did not comment.

"Orochimaru." The younger Uchiha said, eyes narrowing.

"The Snake Sannin." Sakura said.

"What is someone like that doing in the Chunin Exams?" Sasori asked. "Does Konoha hire their former shinobi to scare the Genin?"

Itachi shot him a glare, unamused. "Orochimaru is after the Sharingan." He said. "I have fought him once before but I managed to chase him off."

"Is he after Sasuke-chan, then?" Shisui said. "He awakened his Sharingan on his first mission out."

"We witnessed that, lucky us." Sasori murmured.

"Sasuke is nowhere near skilled enough to fight Orochimaru, let alone escape." Itachi turned towards the door. "I-"

Shisui grabbed his arm, eyes wide. "It was just for a second. We don't know for sure. It's against the rules to enter exam grounds unless you have special permission from the Hokage." He said. "We have to-You can't-"

"There is a insane missing nin after my brother." Itachi said.

"Then security should already know." Sasori said thoughtfully. "We sensed it and we're possibly miles away."

"Yes, and this security is unable to detect a trio of missing nin sitting right under their noses." Sakura said, pointing towards where the office was located. "However, a clash against someone like Orochimaru will no doubt alert them anyways."

"I've eaten lizard before." Gaara said. "But never snake."

"You shouldn't try. You wouldn't know which ones are poisonous." Sasori said. He got to his feet and took his time straightening out his clothes.

Itachi's eyes widened. "You-"

"It is against the rules for anyone to entered the forest while the exams are on." Sasori said. "But that is only protocol for the shinobi of the villages with teams participating in said exams, as well as simple respect." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll. "However, Orochimaru is a missing nin, just like us." He continued. "No one will question why we are in the forest trying to kill each other because it is obvious that we are simply there to cause trouble, and even if it was all a huge misunderstanding, no one will question why a group of well known missing-nin are wandering around the grounds." He smirked.

"Wha-no!" Shisui turned to them, mouth falling open. "You can't! The moment you're found here, you-"

"We are missing-nin." Sasori interrupted. "We'll clash with rules wherever we go." He summoned the contents of his scroll and in a puff of smoke, his puppet scroll pouch appeared in his hands. With practiced motions, he wrapped it around his middle. Sakura and Gaara stood up and the three of them turned towards the wall. "You may want to step back." He called. "Just make sure to send us the results."

Gaara raised a hand and his gourd opened with a pop, sand poured out and forming a drill. Sakura's iron spheres floated out of their hiding place in her cloak and burst, wrapping around Gaara's sand.

A murmur rose from the rest of the occupants and a few Konoha shinobi began making their way over. Sakura looked over her shoulder at the Uchiha and reached out towards them. More iron spheres flew out, heading straight towards them. Itachi and Shisui leaped onto the next row to avoid the attack. Sasori summoned his Third Kazekage and the puppet flew towards Shisui, who dodged again, disbelieve in his eyes.

Gaara flung his arm out and the drill began spinning. Sakura joined him, her own hand raised, and the drill sped towards the wall of the waiting room.

Screams of alarm and panic were drowned out by the sound of the wall crumbling. Sasori pulled back first and vanished out of the gaping hole. Gaara raised his hand and created a smokescreen with his sand.

By the time it died down, the Akasuna no Miki had vanished.

* * *

 **Things are getting interesting~Maybe.**

 _ **Darque: Gera Gera Po~ Gera Gera Po~**_

 **Raven: This again? You'r new song?**

 _ **Darque: Yeah. Gera Gera po~ Gera Gera po~**_

 **Raven: From Yokai Watch.**

 _ **Darque: It is.**_

 **Raven: Darque has this unique and annoying ability to remember all song lyrics she listens to. So the moment I say 'This song is annoying' or 'I don't like this song', she sings it for me.**

 _ **Darque: Ah, the friendship.**_

 **Read and Review~**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter TWENTY TWO**_

Sasori shot through the forest, his senses tingling. Sakura and Gaara jumped from branch to branch above and below him, eyes narrowed in concentration, no doubt trying to keep a lookout for everything,

Now that they had split from Itachi and Shisui, they were once again enemies. Konoha shinobi would be out to get them and if he could have avoided it, Sasori would have loved to stay out of such a troublesome situation.

Still, regardless of what Itachi said, Sasori knew he owed the Uchiha. Sasori remembered the day Sakura shattered and Gaara mentally broke down as clearly as yesterday. It had been the day he had come to realize the true kind of power he kept with him.

Sasori never found out what truly had happened all those years ago. He didn't know the details and Gaara, Sakura and Itachi were all pretty tight lipped about it. However, he knew that it had been Itachi's arrival that had stopped Sakura form being mentally scarred for like and Gaara from completely snapping.

With this thought in mind, he spread his senses, locking on on the powerful chakra signature that seemed to shake the very forest.

Sakura moved up a few branches, so that she was travelling beside him. "How are we going to do this?"

Sasori glanced at her, then up at Gaara, mind whirling. As far as he knew, Sasori had never gotten into a fight with another S-class criminal. He might have, and maybe he had just killed them and turned them into puppets without knowing, but he somehow doubted that. Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi were probably both worthy of the title but since they were still loyal to Konoha, they lacked a certain aspect that all missing-nin took to over time.

However, Sasori knew that Orochimaru was considered to be on a league on his own. Just like Itachi, the snake Sannin was not someone Sasori would want to go up against unless absolutely necessary. Which, currently, it was.

He would just have to end this as quickly as possible, then.

Sasori was a lot of things but a fool, he was not. He knew that no matter how skilled he was, he could not match up to the monstrous potential Gaara, or even Sakura, were born with. Them at this moment in time, having been groomed and sharpened by he himself, held something not even his calculated coldness and planned actions could match.

Also, they were more flashy and tended to stand out. And he did not want to loose any of his puppets to a cray snake bastard.

So really, it was all positives.

"You and Gaara go after the snake." He ordered. "I'll get the brats. Try to chase him off if possible, but if you can't, just hold him off until I'm back. The moment Orochimaru is gone, or Konoha shinobi arrive at the scene, we're scattering."

* * *

Sasori could tell that the battle was nothing a Genin could hope to live through the moment he arrived at the scene. He quickly counted twelve Genin, all from Konoha and all trembling in fear.

On the opposite end of the clearing, he spotted a pale man with long hair and eerie yellow eyes busy licking his lips.

He wasn't surprised when the man he assumed was Orochimaru turned to where he was hiding. "And who might you be, new comer?"

He considered his options for a second before he sunshine into the clearing, so that he was standing between the Genin and the Sannin.

"You!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're that guy from the bridge..."

"You know him?" A boy asked. He had hair tied up in a spiky ponytail and a lazy slouch even as she shook with fear.

"Yeah- I mean no, I mean-"

"We fought him." Sasuke interrupted. "On the bridge."

"Enemies, then." A boy with distinctive Hyuuga eyes stepped in front of a Hyuuga girl who seemed frozen in fear. "Who are you and what do you want?" Sasori had to commend him for trying to look brave but he wasn't here to praise a bunch of Genin.

"I don't have a habit of introducing myself to a bunch of nobodies." He said.

"Akasuna no Sasori..." Sasuke growled.

Sasori shot him an annoyed glare but did not comment. "Unfortunately for you, you are out of time and we too, are short of it." He turned his back to the Genin, completely facing Orochimaru, who had been watching with curiosity in his eyes. "If you want to live, I suggest you get to your feet."

"Wh-why should we go with you?" A blond asked, voice shaky.

Sasori sighed. This was why he hated brats. "You-" His words were cut off by the harsh clank of metal hitting metal. Sasori dug his feet into the ground, raised his free hand to the blade of his kunai and shoved back the Snake Sannin, who appeared to have finally gotten tired of waiting.

"I did not think I'd meet you, of all people, in the Konoha Chunin exams, of all places."

"I could say the same for you." Sasori flicked his fingers and the Third Kazekage, which he had left standby up in the trees, came flying down, forcing Orochimaru to jump back to avoid the poisoned blades.

"And I did not expect for you to take the side of a bunch of Genin either." Orochimaru chuckled in amusement. "Stealing prey, are we?"

Sasori cocked his head, as though considering it, though he already knew that his answer was.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we make a deal? Trade, if you will?" Orochimaru eyed him curiously and Sasori decided he did not like the way he was being watched.

"Oh?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. _What did he do with things he did not like?_

"Hand over the Uchiha and you can take the rest of them. I believe you have a sick fetish of turning people into puppets?"

"How rude." Sasori scoffed. _Right._ "What is sick if your tongue. You really should pick it up off the ground. Who knows what's been there."

Orochimaru smirked and withdrew his tongue back into his mouth. "I take you have to intention of stepping aside?"

Sasori narrowed his eyes.

 _He killed them._

The puppet master flung his arm out, eyes glinting. The Third Kazekage spread it's bladed wings. "Just so you know, I am not here because because I feel pity for young brats being bullied by old men though by no means do I support pedophilia." He sighed and shot a glare over his shoulder. "And how long are you going to take? I have no intention of dying for any of you. If you want to leave this disgusting place alive, I suggest you do as I say."

A boy with a dog opened his mouth but the boy with spiky hair stopped him. "Let's do as he says."

"What? Shikamaru, are you crazy?" A girl with twin buns asked.

The boy, Shikamaru, turned to the girl. "Even if it's a trick, we'll all die anyways." He raised his hands. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure none of use are skilled enough to take on one S-class criminal, let alone two."

"Two..." A chubby boy whispered.

"Akasuna no Sasori is a well known S-class shinobi." Shikamaru confirmed.

Sasori smirked. "At least one of you seem to be smart." He reached towards the boy. Shikamaru flinched and Sasori sighed. "I don't have poison on my hands." He ruffled his hair roughly and halfheartedly. "It's nice to deal with smart dogs once in a while." He said, a little louder.

He got no reaction and with a smirk, withdrew his hand. "Now, are you going to do as told?"

The Genin got to their feet one by one, warily looking from Sasori to Orochimaru and back.

Sasori rolled his shoulders, but beneath his calm appearance, he was tense. He could feel Orochimaru's killing Intent stabbing at him, the only thing stopping the Genin from freezing on the spot being his own powerful presence. He waited impatiently for the last of the Konoha shinobi to get to their feet before he recalled the Third Kazekage to his side. "And how long are you going to take, brats?" He barked.

The Genin all jumped but Sasori did not even turn back to look at them. Instead, his eyes were fixed on something only he could see.

In a gust of wind, Gaara came falling from the sky. There were shocked gasps from the Genin as they watched a boy who looked barely older than them swoop down at the Snake Sannin with unfollowable speeds.

"That-"

Sasori cut off Ami. "Come on."

There was a faint rustle from behind and the Genin all whirled around. Sakura flew out from the trees, eyes clouded and unblinking. Sasori wordlessly raised his hand, palm up, towards the sky. Sakura landed on it and kicked off, taking Gaara's place to continue the onslaught as the redhead temporarily withdrew.

Sasori kept his glance on the two brats one more time before turning to the group from Konoha. "What are you waiting for? Don't keep me waiting." He pointed into the trees. "Tower is that way."

Eyes still wide, they began dart off in the direction pointed out to them.

* * *

 **Here's chapter twenty two~**

 _ **Darque: I've been looking forward to this for a while.**_

 **Raven: You say that for nearly all the fighting scenes.**

 _ **Darque: Of course. Where else to show how amazing a character is than in a battle scene?**_

 **Raven: Daily interactions and subtle actions are just as important. So are how others view the character you are trying to write. This world isn't all about blood curling fights, crazy woman.**

 _ **Darque: I know that, and I like writing complex character interactions too. Still, BOOM RATATATATATA KABOOM BANG BANG BANG RATATATATATATATATATA sounds so much cooler.**_

 **Raven: Is that all you think about?**

 _ **Darque: No, of course not. I'm thinking about tying Sasori down and stri-**_

 **Raven: Actually, it's fine. Don't talk anymore.**

 **Read and Review~**


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter TWENTY THREE**_

The moment Orochimaru was hidden from direct sight, the pressure lightened a little.

Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at the red haired missing nin who traveled behind them, eyes completely focused on something only he could see.

"So why're you here?"

Shikamaru turned to look at Naruto in disbelief but the blond either did not notice, or did not care. He could feel the others tensing around him but Naruto ignored, or did not notice, that too.

Sasori turned to the blond and blinked at him. "No reason, really." He said casually. "Just here to visit a few friends, maybe eat something not lizard or tongue..." He trailed off. "And the atmosphere is nice. Not too dry, not too humid. I might pick up a few trees."

Ino shot him a glance from the corner of her eye and Shikamaru shrugged. If he ignored the fact that this redhead was someone who had killed a countless number of people, he didn't seem too scary.

"You are a missing nin." Sasuke said. "How did you even get in?"

"In someone's pocket." Sasori replied. He blinked when Sasuke could not hold back his disbelief. "No, really. In the pocket of someone you know really well." He sent his puppet forward to clear the branches in front of them. "Can you not travel any faster?" He asked impatiently. "Sakura and Gaara could run faster than any of you when they were seven."

His eyes glinted with something dangerous and Shikamaru realized that despite his appearance, he would not hesitate to kill them.

They heard an explosion from behind them and Shikamaru's thoughts flew back to the two young children who had attacked Orochimaru.

"Hey dude, will Sakura-chan and Gaara be okay?" Naruto asked.

Sasori blinked, looking visibly surprised. "Yes, of course, why do you ask?"

"Because they're as young as us?" Surprisingly, it was Neji who spoke up. The Hyuuga had a tight grip on Hinata's wrist, pulling her along. Shikamaru kind of understood where the boy was coming from; He probably saw his frail cousin in the two children.

Sasori waved his arms in irritation. "Look at you. The moment you're out of immediate danger, you're all so talkative." He sighed. "They stand a better chance than you, at least."

"They are strong." Sasuke said quietly. "We fought them on the bridge. They were-"

"They're monsters." Sasori said easily. "And who best to fight monsters than monsters?" He stopped abruptly on a branch. "Oh look, your destination and your aid."

Shikamaru turned to face the front and sure enough, he could see the tower. He also spotted a group of Konoha shinobi speeding towards them.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke sped up and the shinobi in the lead met the young Uchiha half way.

"Itachi-Teme!" Naruto yelled. "You won't _believe_ who we saw...".

A medic nin rushed over towards them to check for any immediate injuries and Shikamaru instantly noticed that something was wrong. An easy murmur rose from the Genin around him and glanced over his shoulder. Just as he had suspected, Sasori was gone.

* * *

The moment Sasori's red hair had vanished from view, Gaara and Sakura turned their full attention to the Snake Sannin before them.

Gaara already knew from the start that he did not like this man. He was creepy and that long tongue grossed him out.

Also, he felt a bad vibe coming off of him in waves.

Gaara had been a missing nin for around five years. He had started young enough to quickly pick up on the little things that made things easier for those who live like he did.

He had come to know to trust his instincts above all else. He glanced over at Sakura and caught her eye.

Especially when both of them shared the same thoughts.

"I didn't think Sasori-kun would leave his two cute wards behind." Orochimaru said, sending them a mocking smile. "I guess it doesn't matter too much, though."

"No one wants to hear your disgusting hissing, creep." Gaara muttered, eyes narrowed. His sand swirled at his feet and formed a huge snake, which wrapped around him and Sakura defensively. It flicked its tongue out and mockingly hissed.

Orochimaru chuckled in amusement. His hands shot up and flashed through a set of hand signs before either of them could react. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Gaara's snake burst apart before moving forward the block the wind attack. Sakura's iron sand popped up as a second shield in front of them and Gaara lunged forward out of instinct, wrapping his arms around Sakura's head. He felt Sakura shift and the two of them dug their feet into the earth.

A few seconds later, the wind died down. However, Gaara did not lower his sand shield.

"Can you sense him?" Sakura murmured. Her iron sand fell away from its previous shape and swirled around menacingly, ready to strike the moment Gaara lowered his own sand barrier.

"No, he-" He froze when he sensed something and he felt Sakura tense underneath him. He felt arms grab him around the waist and in the next split second, found himself in the air. Sakura's grip on him tightened and Gaara's sand shield dissolved to allow them to rise higher. Sakura was sticking back first to a web of black sand, eyes narrowed and glaring down below.

Orochimaru crawled out of the earth, shaking his head. "Close."

Gaara's sand rose to create a platform beneath them and Sakura dropped them onto it. A shield popped up to catch the snakes shot in their direction and Gaara crushed them without a second thought.

"Hm." Orochimaru glanced into the forest, in the direction Sasori had herded off the Genin. "I guess they're long gone and this might take longer than I thought it would."

Sakura grabbed Gaara's sleeve with the tip of her fingers and shook his a little. "Come on."

Gaara nodded stiffly and watched his pink haired companion jump down. He gave her two seconds before he followed her, baring down on the Snake Sannin.

* * *

Sasori withdrew back into the trees the moment he caught sight of the approaching ANBU squad. Just like he had thought, Itachi was right in front with Shisui only a step behind. He didn't make any unnecessary movement because he did not want to attract any attention. Instead, he moved up a tree, so that he would be able to observe them without being seen. He saw Itachi's eyes flicker up in his direction and Sasori waved and offered the Uchiha a mock salute.

Without waiting for a reaction, he turned back towards where Sakura and Gaara were fighting Orochimaru, his smirk no longer present.

He had a bad feeling about this, and he decided that they needed to get out of here as quickly as they could.

* * *

 **OOoooohhhhh... BAD FEEEEELINGGGG~**

 _ **Darque: I don't like bad feelings.**_

 **Raven: Neither do I.**

 _ **Darque: Well, yeah. Obviously, no one does.**_

 **Raven: Then why did you point it out?**

 _ **Darque: I was just saying.**_

 **Raven: And I was just saying too.**

 _ **Darque: Oh.**_

 **Raven: Yeah.**

 _ **Darque: But I was saying it on the behalf of both of us, so you didn't need to say anything.**_

 **Raven: But people don't know you were talking for both of us, do they?**

 _ **Darque: You're being mean today.**_

 **Raven: Thank you.**

 _ **Darque: I'm telling on you.**_

 **Raven: Go ahead.**

 _ **Darque: I'm sure your mother has time to spare today.**_

 **Raven:...Actually, sorry, please don't tell, I can't go another day without ice cream.**

 _ **Darque:...What is the best type of ice cream?**_

 **Raven:...Must I?**

 _ **Darque: Yes.**_

 **Raven: Sign...Cookies and Cream is love, Cookies and Cream is life.**

 _ **Darque: Good boy.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: Well, Rocky Road can come in second.**_

 **Read and Review~**


	24. Chapter 24

**POLL INFO AT THE BOTTOM (PLEASE CHECK IT OUT)**

 _ **Chapter TWENTY FOUR**_

Spurred on by the moment as well as the piled up worry for his safety, Itachi pulled Sasuke into his arms.

Sasuke stiffened in shock before he slowly returned the action and Itachi sighed into Sasuke's hair, relief momentarily making him go numb. Shisui maked a kissy sound and that is what caused them pull away.

However, even Shisui seemed to understand the importance of the situation and he quickly turned to take in the report of the medic nin. Itachi walked over to the huddled Genin and crouched in front of them. "Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

He was instantly hit in the face with a flood of words when everyone tried to explain the situation at once. Itachi eyed the only people quiet, who happened to be Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru, and pointed vaguely at them, successfully shutting up the others.

"Could you please tell us what happened?"

Shikamaru blinked in surprise before the lazy slouch of his back straightened a little. "We were attacked by Orochimaru of the Sannin." He said slowly.

Itachi and Shisui shared a knowing look and Itachi nodded encouragingly at the Nara. "How did you escape?" He asked, because it was protocol.

He knew how they had managed to escape.

"Akasuna no Sasori and his companions helped us get away." The Nara glanced over his shoulder, almost out of instinct. "He was here until a while ago. I have no idea why he helped us, though a few of the things he said were a little suggestive."

Itachi considered the Nara's response, slightly impressed. In between comments that suited one of his age, he narrowed down what was the most important bits of their experience.

"There were two children." Neji said stiffly.

"Gaara and Sakura-chan." Naruto piped in helpfully.

Neji shot the blond an unimpressed look. "They stayed back to hole Orochimaru back while Sasori escorted us here. He was here until a few seconds ago."

"He probably went back to help them." Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded, his mind whirling. "Shisui and I will go investigate." He finally said. "The rest of you will escort the Genin to the medical tent."

No one protested, because the team had been put together with no warning, and only the two Uchiha were strong enough enough to even hope to stand toe to toe with a S-class missing nin, let alone two.

Sasuke looked ready to protest but Itachi managed to shut him up before he can start with two fingers to his forehead. "I will return soon." He promised.

Sasuke did something he would never admit to be a pout but nodded. "Okay."

Itachi nodded at the rest of their team, wordlessly entrusting his brother and his friends to them, before he and Shisui pulled away.

* * *

Gaara's sand enclosed around the bundle of snakes shooting towards them but they were fast, and they were smart. The sand crushed the snakes on the outside but two, which had been hidden in the shadows of the rest and fast enough to slip out before they too were caught, were suddenly in front of him. He saw a flash of black and Sakura's iron sand killed those too, before his own sand shield had even popped up.

He sent a wave of sand towards the Snake Sannin in order to give both of them time to recover and he sent out a little of his sand to see where Sasori was.

Orochimaru was on a league of his own.

While both Sakura and Gaara were very strong, Orochimaru had experience backing him up. He had eyes trained to search for weaknesses, something Gaara and Sakura did not have, and he was quick in picking up that their major flaw was speed.

While Sakura had trained to dodge and move around due to her limited amount of iron sand, Gaara could created sand as long as there was earth around and he had never encountered anyone who could tear through his sand with blunt force.

Orochimaru's snakes were fast and agile and his sand had problems keeping up with the continuous bombardment of attacks, as well as attacks from Orochimaru himself.

There was also the fact that Sakura did not have the endless amount of chakra his status as a Jinchuuriki had granted him and he knew that they could not risk dragging out this battle.

Up until now, they had lengthened their fights at their will, because their opponents had long lost the ability to fight back and Gaara needed to satisfy his bloodthirsty once in awhile.

It was their first time fighting for so long against an opponent more that capable of keeping up them with them.

This battle was not to their advantage and Gaara began to lose the thrill of fighting someone like Orochimaru.

His sand tickled his wrist and he sent a signal towards Sakura. Together, the two of them release their restraints on their Killing Intent. Gaara knew that this amount of chakra would instantly notify all shinobi in the area that something was wrong. Still, they wouldn't be lingering here for much longer, so it shouldn't be a problem.

"Growing serious, are we?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Or, perhaps, desperate?"

And as if on cue, Sasori burst through trees, presence concealed to the point it had been undetectable. The Third Kazekage spiraled out from above him and while Sasori dug his heels into the ground, the puppet shot forward, forcing Orochimaru to retreat as black sand shot towards him. Sakura released her control over her sand and the second wave rose from behind the snake at Sasori's silent command, and Orochimaru created distance between them in one giant leap, landing at the foot a tree a little distance away. "Back for your pets, Sasori-kun?"

Gaara wondered if he should knock the tree over with his sand but movement from Sasori caught his eye. The puppet master withdrew a vial from his sleeve and uncapped it. The moment the container left the redhead's hand, Gaara and Sakura both threw up a shield.

Orochimaru would have been a fool if he didn't notice something was off. He hurriedly began to pull back.

However, unfortunately for him, Sasori had calculated everything. The direction of the wind, Orochimaru's location, the angle of his hand and the position of the mouth of the vial. The invisible powder swept through the Snake Sannin and he froze.

Orochimaru flashed them a strained smirk. "My aim today was Sasuke-kun but it must have been pure luck you arrived." He said. "When you slipped out of my grasp with the unexpected interference of Itachi-kun, I did not think we would be reunited here." He did not appear at all worried by the paralysis poison that had taken effect in the blink of an eye. "It seems I was too careless."

Gaara summoned the remaining sand around him, ready to teleport them far, far away. Something was nagging at him at the back of his mind and beside him, Sakura had gone stiff. He felt Sasori tense as well and he decided he did not like it.

"I'd forgotten for a while but you have rekindled my interest." Orochimaru called.

Gaara felt the familiar tug on his limbs and they began dissolving.

"Your prowess, it excites me to find when I dissect you."

* * *

 **We have put up a poll concerning the next story we are planning to publish. Due to the fact that only allows one poll up at a time, the format of this poll is slightly messy, though there are only a few options, so we hope it isn't too complicated.**

 **The following questions are asked with the following possible answers:**

 **-Which tense do you prefer? (A)**

 **Past tense**

 **Present tense**

 **-Which Sakura characters do you like the most? (B)**

 **A carefree, innocent, seemingly naive, misleading Sakura who actually knows more than she lets on (Sakura from 'A Wish Upon those Eyes of Green', 'Ivy')**

 **A slightly insane, bloodthirsty, crazy and yet, can be cold and calculating Sakura that knows she's a few screws loose and makes sure everyone around her knows it too (Sakura from 'The Beauty of Life', 'First Time to see the World')**

 **A serious, slightly detached Sakura who knows so much and yet, so little of the world outside those she is loyal to (Sakura from 'Red Strings of Fate','The Core')**

 **A fearful, oppressed Sakura that is a shell of what could have been like due to past trauma who has a hard time breaking off old engraved habits. (Sakura from 'The Path of Endless Togethers'[First few chapters])**

 **Like the above, the choices will be marked with either 'A)' or 'B)'**

 **Please pick one from each.**

 **Thank you for your cooperation.**

* * *

 _ **Darque: So I don't know what to think about this chapter.**_

 **Raven: The ending was rushed.**

 _ **Darque: Yeah, cause you were sick.**_

 **Raven: I reacted badly to the flu vaccine.**

 _ **Darque: Basically you caught the flu you were supposed to build an resistance to.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: You skipped almost a week of school and stayed in bed majority of the time.**_

 **Raven: No need to rub it in my face.**

 ** _Darque: Like, you didn't even use this time to game or laptop or anything?_**

 **Raven:...,...**

 ** _Darque: Who wastes their time like that?_**

 **Raven:...Is that why you're angry?**

 **Read and Review~**


	25. Chapter 25

**_Chapter TWENTY FIVE_**

By 'far', Gaara had meant the border of Fire country, possibly over it.

However, Sasori seemed to have other ideas.

Gaara scowled but wordlessly dropped them off at the edge of the Forest of Death.

If Orochimaru was even a little bit intelligent, he would have made his escape as quickly as he could. He was fully paralyzed, but Gaara doubted he had charged in unprepared. Even if the Snake still had things left to do in Konoha, he would have at least pulled away from the Forest of Death.

They hovered over the border until the sun had begun to set. Sasori had quietly said that they would depart the moment night came, simply because after events like this, patrols were sent out to scout under protocol.

"Are you sure he will come?" Gaara asked. His eyes scanned the distance. He wasn't used to feeling as tired as he was and he couldn't bring himself to form his third eye. He wasn't worried, thought. All three of them were still pretty sensitive form the previous battle and he was sure one of the would notice if something happened.

Sasori nodded.

Sure enough, just as the orange sun had become nothing more than a faint strip over the borderline, Itachi appeared in a flurry of crows.

Sasori stood up from where had been sitting on the ground, fiddling with a puppet, and with a single hand gesture, he led the Uchiha off into the trees.

Gaara felt eyes on him and turned to look at Sakura who blinked at him. "What did you think?" She asked.

"About?" Gaara plopped down on the floor beside her. "The exams or the snake?"

"Both." Sakura reached out and absentmindedly ran a hand through Gaara's red hair.

"None of the Genin are worthy of becoming Chunin." Gaara replied, tone sure.

"But we didn't finish watching the whole of the exams." Sakura said. "The preliminaries were to start after five days." She paused. "That will be today, no?"

"So we missed the chance to watch a bunch of kids try to kill each other." Gaara sighed. "I was looking forward to that."

Sakura let out a soft hum and leaned her head on his shoulder. Gaara curved his neck to tuck her head into the crook of his neck. "Remember what he said at the end?" He asked softly.

He felt Sakura stiffen but wrapped an arm around her waist to stop her from pulling away.

Sakura let out a soft sound of affirmation. "Of course." She said.

"Do you think it was him?" He asked quietly.

"Perhaps." Sakura let out a shaky sigh. "He seemed to know about it, at least."

"Yeah." Gaara took a deep breath. "Sasori could tell." He said.

"He could." Sakura agreed. "And Itachi-san is here too."

"What do you think we're going to do now?"

Sakura raised her head and looked at where Sasori had vanished off to with Itachi. "Whatever he is going to do." She said.

Gaara smirked a little. "Right."

* * *

"Did you catch him?" Sasori asked, though he knew that the man had gotten away.

"No, all we found was a mud clone." Itachi replied, equally aware that Sasori knew.

"Hm." Deciding that they were far enough, Sasori stopped walking. Itachi does the same a second later.

"He brought it up." The Puppet Master said quietly. "When you saved them."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I had my suspicions." He said quietly. "The men sent weren't exactly discreet."

Sasori nodded. "What worries me is how they disabled Sakura's sand." He narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on Itachi. "I take it you know?"

Itachi met his gaze. "All I could tell was that it was a wave of sorts that disrupted the magnetic control."

"It was a planned assault." Sasori said. "Orochimaru was behind it and he threatened to go after them again."

Itachi did not speak.

Sasori sighed. "What do you plan to do now?" He asked. "Or better, what do you want us to do?"

"Orochimaru's exit from the Fire country has not been confirmed." Itachi said. "While I doubt he can be tracked if he does not want to be found, I also do not think he would have entered Konoha just to go after my brother."

"You think he has more planned."

Itachi nodded.

"And?" Sasori asked. "What do you want us to do?"  
Itachi opened his mouth, only to close it again.

Sasori rolled his eyes and let a lazy smirk grace his lips. "Well, seeing how incompetent your shinobi are, I guess I cannot just leave you." He pulled his lips back in the beginning of a snarl. "And I have things I want to say to the Snake."

* * *

Shisui was both relieved and horrified when Itachi returned with a scroll that summoned a pile of sand that turned into the three missing nin he had come to know over the past few days.

"You're okay!" Shisui exclaimed. "Well, there were no signs on heavy injury and Tachi said that you were but I dunno, I was still worried."

Gaara snorted. "As if a single snake can land a scratch on us."

Shisui roughly ruffled his hair. Gaara let out an indignant yelp and pulled away. "The whole village is on look out for suspicious people so I have no idea why you're back." Shisui grinned then hugged Sakura before she too could step back. "But really, I'm so glad you're alright." He grinned suggestively at Sasori who had whipped out a poison dipped kunai to guard himself from acts of affection.

"They will be staying here for the remainder of the Chunin exams." Itachi said.

Shisui blinked at the heir, who was rolling out the futon, and his eyes widened. "What?"

Itachi turned to him. "It is just as I have said."

"Wait." Shisui rushed over to his cousin. "Wait, hang on, do you understand what exactly is going on? The whole entire village is on the lookout for a S-class missing nin! Sasori-chan and his minions will-"

"Not get caught." Sasori tilted his head in the most superior manner and eyed the Uchiha.

"The village is worried about Orochimaru to the point no one will notice." Itachi said dismissively. "And they know not to get caught."

"And if we do, you two had nothing to do with this." Sasori added.

"I want to see who makes Chunin." Sakura said.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I doubt anyone will. They all suck."

"They do." Sasori agreed.

Shisui looked helplessly between Itachi, who was patting down the pillow, his perfectionist side coming out, Sasori, who was for once agreeing with Gaara about the low skill level of Genin these days, Sakura, who was trying to tie a knot into her own hair and Gaara, who venomously insulted a Genin from Kirigakure.

He huffed and grabbed the second pillow before moving to roll out the second futon.

They were all going to get arrested for treason and none of these idiots cared.

* * *

 _ **Darque: I really like the relationship here.**_

 **Raven: Me too, especially because I can relate.**

 _ **Darque: Relate? To what?**_

 **Raven: Shisui.**

 _ **Darque: How?**_

 **Raven: The 'Oh gods we're going to get caught and utterly chewed out but no one cares we must all be stupid' feeling.**

 _ **Darque: Hm...**_

 **Raven: I get it whenever I get pulled in to one of your st** **upid endeavors.**

 ** _Darque:...Uh...Don't use big words plz._**

 **Raven:...I meant your 'adventures'.**

 _ **Darque: Oh! But they're awesome! Like someone once said, 'It's an adventure, Harry, it's good for you.'**_

 **Raven: Don't quote Mamma Mia at me. Go find a Harry for that.**

 _ **Darque: But it really is good! And we've never actually gotten caught.**_

 **Raven: That's bec** **ause the entire world has given up on trying to fix your brain.**

 _ **Darque: I agree.**_

 **Raven:...Huh?**

 _ **Darque: I too, have given up on the real world. However, I haven't given up on myself.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: Don't worry, stupid people can believe in anything, so you can believe in yourself!** _

**Raven: What is with you and quotes today?...I'm going to run- I mean, go to sleep. Bai~**

 **Read and Review~**


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter TWENTY SIX**_

Sasori sat on the couch like he owned it. And he did, for the duration of their stay, so he would not move on this one.

Shisui and Itachi were sitting on the floor, pouring over maps and statistics.

Sakura and Gaara were sitting next to them, squabbling over where they could stand in order to have the best view of the fights.

Sakura thought they should blast a hole in the roof and stand over the field on a pedestal of sand. Gaara thought they should hijack the Kage seats, since of course they had the best view.

Sasori had a feeling they were just messing around but a part of him wasn't so sure. The two Konoha shinobi showed no signs of being worried, though Sasori was sure that was because they didn't know Gaara and Sakura's true selves.

"Apart from being after the Sharingan, we have no idea what the Snake is against." Shisui said. "Nearly the whole clan will be present at the exams. That can be both an advantage and an disadvantage."

"The elderly and the young will be remaining at the compound." Itachi said. "It's location at the back of the village will protect it but we cannot overlook this."

"Clansmen or shinobi?" Shisui asked.

"I will bring this up with Hokage-sama." Itachi said. "It is up to him, after all."

"Speaking of Hokage, how much trouble will we get into if he finds out we let a missing nin, an S-class one at that, listen in on our security plans?"

"A lot." Itachi shrugged, like it was of no concern to him.

"I wonder how the clan will react to you and Sasori-dear being friends."

Shisui casually ducked the kunai, no doubt poisoned, that was thrown at his face. "See how violent he is?" He winked in Sasori's direction. "Such a dear."

Gaara let out something that sounded like a chuckle. At least Itachi had the decency to look away.

"Otou-sama will blow a blood vessel." Itachi said thoughtfully. "Oka-sama will be pleased."

"I can imagine that." Shisui reached out and yanked Sakura into his lap. "And she'll adore these."

Sasori sighed and scanned over the map. "So, what have we come up with?" He asked.

"Our center of security will be the arena as well as the civilian districts." Itachi said. "A lot of people are visiting to watch the exams. If Orochimaru's aim is a massacre, those are the most likely targets."

"What if he's after the Sharingan?"

"The Uchiha will be in charge of protecting population of Konoha." Itachi said, referring to their role as the police force.

"Everyone should move around in groups." Shisui suggested. "Those Chunin and below are to aid with evacuation."

Gaara scoffed. "I doubt even a jounin can deal with the snake."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

"But they will have a better chance of escaping." Sasori supplied. He paused. "Orochimaru may have reinforcements. What about those?"

Shisui chuckled. "You really weren't listening, were you?"

Sasori shrugged.

"Not only Uchiha, but all chunin and below will be aiding with evacuation." Itachi said. "I do not know the scale but depending on numbers, this may turn out to be an all out fight. Safety will be priority."

"I don't like defense." Gaara groaned.

"And what about us?" Sakura asked.

Itachi turned to her, eyes softening. "You, Gaara and Sasori will be in charge of dealing with the unexpecteds." He said.

Shisui grinned at Sakura's confused expression. "We don't know what kind of trick the Snake will pull." He said. "So if something happens that we haven't prepared for, you guys will swoop in like heroes and save the day!"

"And expose ourselves to everyone in the area?" Sasori asked.

Shisui blinked. "Oh...right."

"You had no qualms with appearing in front of the heirs to Konoha's most influential clans in the Forest of Death." Itachi said. His voice was flat but it sounded like he was pouting.

Sasori huffed. "That was an emergency." He said.

"Then think this is an emergency and help." Itachi retorted.

The puppet master sighed in exasperation. "I can see where Sasuke got his attitude."

"Itachi has attitude." Shisui agreed.

The Uchiha heir stared at the two blankly.

Sasori rolled his eyes and got to his feet. He patted down his clothes, showing off the sand clinging to him. "Well, we got most of it." He said. "We just patrol until the finals, right?"

Itachi nodded. "Report anything suspicious to me." He said. "Do not engage by yourselves unless absolutely necessary, and even then, make sure to send someone for me."

Sasori nodded. "If they run, do we give chase?" He asked. "Do you need them alive?"

"Capture them alive." Itachi rolled up the copy of the map he had made had made over to Sasori. "Hammer it into your head." He said.

Sasori took it and stuffed it unceremoniously into his pocket. "And what about money?" He asked. "Monsters need snack to function."

"Of course, all your expenses will be covered by me." Itachi tossed him a small pouch.

Sasori caught it and weighed it in his hand. "Is this for today, or for the next few days?"

Itachi eyed him and Sasori raised his hands in defeat.

"If someone sees us, can we kill them?" Gaara asked eagerly.

"No." Itachi blinked a the pouting boy. "But when Orochimaru attacks, you can get first hit."

"What do we do if someone sees us?" Sakura asked.

"Kill them." Gaara said. "The dead don't talk."

"Poison them." Sasori argued. "I just mixed together someone potent. I bet it's enough to erase them."

"No killing, no crushing, no poisoning." Shisui said, panicking. "You can't harm any of the Konoha people."

"If someone does happen to see you, knock them out and bring them over. We will deal with them." Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Though I believe you are skilled enough to not be noticed...Or perhaps not."

Sasori seemed to take this as a challenge. "Oh, what to find out?"

* * *

 **Here's the next chapter~**

 _ **Darque: WHEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...~**_

 **Raven: Whoohoo...?**

 _ **Darque: What are you doing?**_

 **Raven: Matching your brain waves so you seem normal. When one person does something strange, it's weird, but when many people do it, people begin to think it's the norm.**

 _ **Darque: But what if they think all of them are strange?**_

 **Raven: That might happen too.**

 ** _Darque: Oh._**

 **Raven: But if everyone else is doing something you're not, wont you begin to think perhaps you're wrong? Human beings are weak to logic that comes from majority.**

 _ **Darque: I don't.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: Because I am always right.**_

 **Raven: Yeah, in your own head.**

 ** _Darque: Of course, but isn't that enough?_**

 **Raven:...**

 ** _Darque: As long as I'm right, I'm right. I don't care what anyone else says._**

 **Raven: You sound unexpectedly serous today.**

 ** _Darque: Well, here's the thing. 1+1=4._**

 **Raven:...**

 ** _Darque: Because I am right and always right, this is right too._**

 **Raven: And you just had to go and ruin it.**

 ** _Darque XP_**

 **Raven: Ah well, meh.**

 **Read and Review~**


	27. Chapter 27

**So, here's our New-year mass update!**

 **Also...**

 **NEW INFO STORY AT THE BOTTOM!**

 _ **Chapter TWENTY SEVEN**_

With an essay worth of warnings, Itachi and Shisui left them, leaving the Akasuna no Miki to their own thoughts and plans. In the end, their routes for patrol and guard duty had been left up to them.

No matter how much they could conceal their presence and blend in with those around the, someone was bound to notice something was wrong. Gaara was put in charge of night guard. His sand and the range it granted him allowed him to keep an eye on a lot of things at once without leaving their hideout. During the day, they decided to combine a mix of separate and group patrols, especially on their first few days. Itachi had taken them on a village tour the beginning few days of their stay in Konoha but there were certain routes only skilled shinobi and missing-nin alike could pick up on from practice and experience. The first thing they needed to do was familiarize themselves with the area.

The morning went relatively well for them. The three of them checked out common shinobi hangout spots and alleyway routes. Sakura and Gaara did their job of becoming liked by the old ladies that spent their day sitting at parks and hanging around market places, easily wrapping them around their fingers.

It had been good, up until that point.

And Sasori should have suspected something, because it did not last. Never did and never will. Every single time lady luck seemed to be on his side the past few years, something equally unlucky happened as if for compensation.

Sasori didn't particularly mind on the most part because it kept things interesting and gave him a constant source of puppet materials but there were certain times he wished he could put it down as a tab.

Like now.

Sasori thought they were amazing.

Literally.

They were to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and it wasn't like he had a problem with it, and it allowed them to walk around the village, so Sasori had accepted.

Sasori spent a while in a scroll store while Sakura and Gaara waited in the playground outside. He had just picked up a few books about herbs native to the Fire country when he felt the sand bangle around his wrist pulsing.

Being a missing nin, he knew warnings were never to be ignored. Gaara and Sakura could given advanced warning due to metal detection and the third eye, but that did not men Sasori could hover wherever he wanted, especially if he planned to linger for a while. He tossed the shopkeeper the money for the books and flew out of the store.

Sakura and Gaara were perched on the bench a little away from the sand, watching in disinterest at the group of children messing around in the sand pit, trying to build a sand castle. Sakura had a hand on Gaara's, no doubt stopping the redhead from charging in to teach them a thing or two.

Sasori casually glanced around, trying to see what had bothered the two, when he saw it through the trees and the fence of the other side of the park.

There, right across the street and looking right at them, was Hatake Kakashi. The Jounin had his nose buried in an orange book but Sasori did not think for a split second that the mad hadn't noticed their presence.

Neither Sakura nor Gaara had looked up from their inspection of the sandpit, but Sasori did not doubt that they knew Kakashi knew either. He casually glanced around and walked over to the two.

"Are you done?" Gaara asked, a hint of a scowl in his tone. "You sure took your time."

Sasori scoffed. "Since when have I had to rush anything for your sake?" He asked. Gaara growled but did not lash out. Sasori thought staying in Konoha was a good temper control lesson for the boy.

Sakura leaned in from her place beside the younger redhead. "And what about him?" She asked.

None of them needed to ask who 'him' was.

Sasori made a show of thoughtfully tapping his chin. "Hm, I'll take suggestions."

Gaara's hand shot into the air and he spoke before Sasori asked him. "We should crush him."

Sakura nudged him and Gaara let out a whimper of protest. "We aren't allowed to harm anyone from Konoha." She said. "We should incapacitate him."

"I doubt that's any better."

Sasori shot Kakashi a look from the corner of his eyes to gauge the man's reaction and was a little pleased when the Jounin snapped his book shut. "Do you have any particular requests, Sharingan no Kakashi?" He asked.

The Jounin trotted over, posture casual and hands in his pocket, like he had all the time in the world. He smiled warmly at them, as though the last time they had met, they hadn't been at each other's throats. "It's been a while." He said.

"Indeed it has." Sasori nodded in greeting. "How is your team?"

"Doing as well as can be." Kakashi put his book back into his pouch. "Naruto and Sasuke are advancing to the final rounds of the Chunin exams."

Sasori faintly notes that they had missed the outcomes of the preliminaries. "Oh, I see." The former Suna nin said politely. "That is fortunate."

"Isn't it." The two of them eyed each other.

Gaara and Sakura got up from their seats and took their places on either side of the Puppet Master. "So, what do we do with him?" Gaara asked. He tugged at Sasori's cloak arm and frowned at Kakashi. "Shall I wring him?"

Sakura nuzzled Sasori's arm, with her head and Sasori playfully wrapped his limb around her neck, making the girl stumble. With a gasp of protest, Sakura crashed headfirst into his side. Her cry was muffled by his cloak cloak. However, Sasori did not shift his gaze from Kakashi's. "Why don't we talk this over some tea?" He suggested. "Somewhere less populated?"

He remembered acting as an ambassador once. The Fourth had never again asked him; he didn't have the patience for it.

Kakashi, however, pretended not to notice his quickly ticking patience. "Why not?"

Sakura and Gaara clearly sensed something wrong. They glanced at each other then hesitantly padded after them.

* * *

 **Chapter tenty seven here!**

 **Raven: Was your 'tenty seven' on purpose?**

 _ **Darque: Why, yes, why you ask?**_

 **Raven: No, just wondering.**

 _ **Darque: Uh...okay?**_

 **Raven: Mmhmm. I need to go eat soba.**

 _ **Darque: Oh! Me too bruh.**_

 **Raven: Don't spill it.**

 _ **Darque: I tipped over cup ramen this morning.**_

 **Raven: Too late I see...wait, cup ramen for breakfast?**

 _ **Darque: Of course.**_

 **Raven: If you die of diabetes, I'll bring a cupcake to your funeral.**

 _ **Darque: Thanks buddy!**_

 **Raven: No problem...friend?**

* * *

 **NEW STORY:**

 **Those in Between (Sakura x Sasuke x Itachi) ((If there is a pairing)) :**

 **Sakura, a survived experiment, has skin that releases venom. To hide her from ROOT, she is taken in by Jiraiya and now acts as messenger for him and his spies. On a mission to find Tsunade Sakura meets Sasuke-the brother of a particular spy who pets her hair and buys her dango. Born to obey, she must take initiative for the first time in her life to save the people she cares for.**

* * *

 **Happy New Year~**

 **(** **If it's a little early, re-read later :) If it's late, here's a belated New year greeting.)**

 **We hope you all have had a good 2016 and will have a bright year ahead.**

 **We thanks you for your continuous support and we hope you continue to read and review our stories.**

* * *

 **Read and Review~**


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter TWENTY EIGHT**_

Sasori led Kakashi and his two minions into Itachi's recommended dango shop. The old lady that ran the store knew not to pry into anyone's business. Sasori was also counting on the fact that she was old, and that she wouldn't notice if Gaara or Sakura said something that might get them chased out of Konoha at best and executed at worst.

He ordered a plate of dango for them to share, fully set on putting the tab on Kakashi or Itachi, depending on whether or not the man in front of him fled before it was too late. Kakashi ordered some tea, which Sasori quickly added three more orders to. They waited in silence until the lady brought them their food and drinks.

"So, what can I do for you, Sharingan no Kakashi?" He asked.

Kakashi's hand twitched towards his pocket but he stopped after a glance at Sakura and Gaara, who were both intently staring at him.

"What makes you think I want anything?" He asked.

Sasori sent him an exasperated look. "Are you saying that you let us catch you without any reason behind it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe I slipped up." He said humorously.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "No, really." He said.

Kakashi glanced at him. "Shall I sugarcoat it or get straight to the point?" He asked.

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "Are you wasting my time on purpose?" He asked.

Kakashi chuckled. "Of course not." He said."So, why're you here?"

"Because my hair cannot take another gust of sandy wind." Sasori said.

"Because the wet air makes my sand heavy." Gaara said.

"Because we got tired of a scenery of only rocks." Sakura said.

Kakashi blinked. "Wow...you've been traveling a lot, I see."

Sasori shot his companions a look, like _Why didn't you match my thoughts?_

Kakashi seemed to wave this off. For now. "So why are you here?"

The younger red-head ignored Sasori's glare. "Because Itachi-san is a jerk." Gaara supplied sullenly.

"Itachi-san is nice." Sakura argued.

"I guess."

Sasori seemed to sense he wouldn't be getting any help from his companions before he sighed, appearing to have given up before he even attempted a move in their mind game. "You guys realize you just sold Itachi out, right?" He asked.

Both children froze as they thought over this before Gaara shrugged. "He had it coming. Helping missing-nin, what was he thinking?"

Sakura bit her lip and glanced down.

Sasori sighed. "Gaara, I wonder what happened to your adorable self from years ago." He turned back to Kakashi. "Like they said, it's all Itachi's fault. Hunt him down and yell at him, but please let us go." He rolled his eyes when all Kakashi did was smile at him. "Okay, okay, just...stop. Your smile is creepy."

Kakashi wordlessly eyed them. "My team, along with the other Konoha first year participants of the Chunin exams claimed you came by and saved them from Orochimaru." He said slowly.

Sasori nodded with a shrug. "Maybe. It was a while ago."

"I have no idea what you're doing here, but I know that if you hadn't been there, one will be bearing the Curse Mark and others will have been severely injured at best." He paused. "And for that, you have my thanks."

Sasori waved his hand. "Nah, I've never liked the snake anyways." He rolled his shoulders then tilted his neck, a loud _crack_ ringing out through their stall. "And we _did_ happen to be here and we _were_ the only ones who could probably hold him off, so yeah."

"And you owe Itachi." Kakashi said.

"You remembered?" Sasori asked, remembering he had mentioned it during their fight on the bridge. Kakashi shrugged.

Sasori blinked as a thought hit his mind. "Itachi insists we don't." He said. "But I don't feel like I've paid him back." He took a deep breath. "Or that I'll ever pay him back." He turned to Kakashi, lazy brown eyes meeting equally lazy black. "As your place alongside me in the 'slightly socially damaged' section in society, what do think of that?"

"I came here to interrogate you on the reasons you are in Konoha." Kakashi said. "Not play therapist." He sighed, though, and leaned in a little closer. "Besides, it depends on what exactly happened." He gauged Sasori's subtle reaction and shrugged. "Then again, I doubt you'll share."

"You guess correct." Sasori said, a little too rushed. He caught himself, though, and he glanced away just a little. "Maybe." He said finally. "Just not now."

Kakashi shrugged again in understanding. He had survived this long as a shinobi and sometimes, that meant knowing when to ask questions and when to shut up. "Well, I tried." He said. "So, what's your story here?"

"It's a favor." Sasori said. Kakashi was smart enough to figure out for whom without him saying anything. "Orochimaru will be back for certain. Besides, we came by to watch the exams anyways, so why not?"

"You could get detained for probably just within the village walls." Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

Sasori shrugged. "We know that." He said. "Still, only a few, including Itachi and yourself, are skilled enough to catch sight of us, let alone try to bring us in."

Sakura and Gaara, who had been quietly watching the two older shinobi talk, began mumbling to each other. Sasori ignored them in favor of gauging Kakashi's reaction.

Finally, the two brats seemed to have come to some sort of understanding because Sakura turn to look at them. Gaara was looking a little sullen, which meant he had lost whatever argument they had been having.

No surprise there; he always did. Had his opponent been anyone else, he probably would have shoved through with his point and reinforced it with violence. After all, crushed opponent meant a dead opponent, which in turn meant no opponent and Gaara had automatically won.

This was Sakura, though, so he unintentionally laid off. She was one of his only soft spots. Sasori stifled a smile and turned to Sakura, encouraging her to speak.

The girl took a deep breath. "Hatake-san?"

Kakashi turned to Sakura and smiled in her direction.

"Mhm?"

The pinkette fiddled with a lock of her own hair. "You're not going to report Itachi-san, right?" She asked quietly.

Sasori flicked her nose with the tip of his finger. The girl let out a soft yelp and immediately, Gaara was baring his teeth at the older redhead, who rolled his eyes. "We're the ones in danger here." He said. "Why are you fretting over Itachi?"

"Because we have no obligation to not kill any Konoha nin should they try anything." She replied without hesitation. "Itachi-san cannot do the same."

Sasori paused to consider this. "Actually, you're right."

"Of course she is." Gaara snapped. "She's Sakura."

Kakashi watched the two redheads bicker with Sakura trying to calm them down, unknowingly making it worse.

If this was what S-class missing-nin turned out to be after years of wandering around under the sun, he pitied those who even entertained the idea of defecting.

 **So, chapter twenty two is here~**

 **Just a note; 'First Time to see the World' has been completed (Our second complete story, yay~) If you haven't checked it out, please do so :)**

 ** _Darque: Kakashi is chill._  
**

 **Raven; Mmhmm. You think he's a little too chill?**

 _ **Darque: I'd say it's cause like Itachi, he think he's skilled enough to stop them should**_ _ **they try anything.**_

 **Raven: And is he?**

 _ **Darque: Hell no! OP REDHEAD(PLUS PINK)TRIO is the best~**_

 **Raven: Uh...right. Yeah.**

 _ **Darque: I wonder what happens next. Imma go see if I can write it now.**_

 **Raven** **: Mkay, good luck~**

 _ **Darque; Where's the help, co-writer?**_

 **Raven: My job is to make sure you don't do anything stupid and get yourself arrested before you finish all these stories.**

 _ **Darque: Oh...good luck.**_

 **Raven: I'll need it.**

 **Read and Review~**


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter TWENTY NINE**_

Kakashi promise to let them off if they bought him the newest volume of some 'Icha Icha' book. Sasori, who had no idea what that was, agreed easily enough. While he wasn't really feeling up to walking across the street to a bookstore and looking for some random book, he didn't really want to deal with Kakashi dangling the blackmail over their heads either.

He probably wouldn't have to worry about being reported, for Kakashi seemed very bit lazy as he was, but still. He turned to the brats, who were watching him curiously, and passed them a pouch of money.

"Sakura, Gaara, you heard him."

Kakashi's eye widened a little but before he could say anything, Sakura and Gaara had teleported out.

"Wait!" Kakashi's call was blown away, literally, by a whirlwind of sand.

Sasori turned to the man and raised an eyebrow. "You want the book, do you not?"

Kakashi sank deeper into his seat with a sigh. "Do you even know what the godly Icha Icha series is about?"

Sasori shrugged. "That is none of my business." He said. "The brats know to put the tab on Itachi."

"Underage kids can't buy it." Kakashi said. He flpipped open the book to a random page and held it out to the red head.

Sasori stared blankly for a few seconds before his eyes widened just a little.

"After all, Icha Icha is-"

He was, once again, rudely cut off by a puff of smoke to the face.

* * *

Sasori liked to think he had saved the situation from spiraling into something mega awkward. Luckily, the lady that ran this particular store happened to be old, Sakura spoke really quiet and Gaara did not like speaking to strangers, and by the time he managed to arrive, the old lady had gone to get a piece of paper for Sakura to write the title of the book she was looking for. He quickly cut in and with the charisma missing nin tended to pick up for sticky situations such as this, he managed to get the old lady to find the book.

The tab went on Itachi's name, of course, which was only fair since he had ditched Kakashi with the dango.

If the Jounin thought he would be coming back and could force him to pay then, he was dead wrong.

* * *

A swirl of sand flew in through the window and dropped a book onto his lap.

Being the genius he was, it took Kakashi less than a second to figure out what had happened. He glared subtly out of the window and met Sasori's gleeful, mocking look. He then turned back to the tea shop owner, who was glaring down at him.

Swearing revenge in name of his pride as one of Konoha's best shinobi, he paid for their food.

* * *

As planned, Gaara sat up in their room, under the window, his third eye out roaming the streets.

Sakura was curled up beside his, asleep, while Sasori too was sleeping, opposite Gaara and with his back to the door. This way, they had most of the major entrances covered. Of course, unless their attacker decided to bust down the roof, which in that case, he thought everything was free game.

Regardless of how Sasori had demanded a proper sleeping space with the most fluffy, comfortable futon in the whole of the Uchiha compound, it lay spread out on the floor, unused.

Contrary to popular belief, comfort was something that took time to get used to. In a life where everyone was a potential threat and they were face to face with danger everyday, instincts and habits could mean the line between survival and death, and once such automatic reactions were built in, it was almost impossible to get rid of.

Just like trauma and memories of tragedies, these things were never truly forgotten. They clung on, like a parasite.

* * *

Soon, Akasuna no Miki fell into a routine. During the day, they did a lot of casual wandering rooftop watching. During the night, they patrolled twice with Gaara keeping an overall watch out during the time the sun was down. Either Itachi or Shisui came to check on them during the times they were in their temporary base, with scrolls containing money for the days they were both unavailable.

As expected, Itachi was less that impressed when Sasori admitted, as sheepishly as the lazy puppet master would appear, that Kakashi had caught them.

They had gotten a major scolding about execution and danger and treason and little brothers before Itachi had let them go with a sigh, probably too tired to deal with such foolishness.

Sasori thanked whatever team on the Uchiha's border patrol for driving the heir up the wall with their incompetence, thus saving them from an even longer lecture.

Apart from Kakashi, who they occasionally saw on the streets and was sure was bumping into them on purpose, they managed to stay undetected.

Which was how it was supposed to be, Itachi had said.

As far as their very reliable fellow missing nin detector could tell, nothing seemed out of place. Apart form the added security and increased patrols that seemed to be just short of worrying the civilians, nothing seemed too out of place. Of course, Sakura and Gaara had spent almost half their life living outside village walls rather than in and Sasori had taken to the life of a missing nin like fish to water, so they couldn't really say anything about the atmosphere of a normal village but hey, Itachi had hired them, so he couldn't really complain.

During the rare occasions of free time, Gaara took Sakura around the village through sand teleportation and they observed the training sessions of the Konoha competitors. Genin from other villages had all returned to their own villages for their own training, but they would be back in time for the finals, which was currently a week and a half or so away.

And sometimes, when Itachi wasn't around to glare into their minds to pick out any acts of foolishness, they hoped that something might happen.

* * *

A few days later, Itachi entered their temporary base.

Sakura and Gaara looked up from the sand model of Konoha they had been constructing and darted over to him when he stepped through the door. They didn't seem to notice his disapproving glare at the sight of all the sand but he didn't comment on it.

"Hello, Sakura, Gaara."

"Itachi-san." Sakura, obviously the spokesperson, greeted. Gaara simply nodded in his direction. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi glanced around. "I was hoping to find Sasori here." He admitted. "Is he out?"

Sakura nodded. "He's on patrol. We can call him back?"

Itachi shook his head. "I am not in any rush." He watched the two glance at each other before nodding.

"Would you like to wait here?" Sakura asked.

Itachi shook his head. "Thank you for the offer." He said. "But I am currently helping train my brother with Kakashi-taicho."

The two once again shared a look and Itachi smiled softly. "Would you like to join us?"

Gaara whipped around to look at him warily. "Our techniques are very..."

"Uchiha training grounds are off limits to any others and the dojo is chakra reinforced." Itachi said. "And we have it all to ourselves. Sasuke and Kakashi-taicho know about the two of you."

The two glanced at each other before turning to him with what was probably the closest thing to a shy smile they could offer.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter twenty nine~**

 ** _Darque: I wonder how this will end. Will they end up making friends with Sasuke or will the swear in their name to murder him?_**

 **Raven: Uh...How extreme.**

 _ **Darque: I know, right? How romantic.**_

 **Raven: How is that romantic?**

 _ **Darque: How is it not? The thin line between love and hate, then most minuscule of choice that can decide the relationship of a lifetime.**_

 **Raven: I'm not sure if that's what you call romantic.**

 _ **Darque: It is.**_

 **Raven: Who says?**

 _ **Darque: Me, of course.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: It is.**_

 **Raven: Sigh, okay. Just don't do things like that in essays and stuff. You can't write 'Bob is sad, because I say so'. That will get you no marks.**

 _ **Darque:...Why is everything academic for you?**_

 **Raven: Because if I don't keep an eye on your academic stuff, you'll probably fail everything.**

 ** _Darque: Well, I guess that's what friendship is for._**

 **Raven:...**

 **Read and Review~**


	30. Chapter 30

**New story info at the bottom~**

 ** _Chapter THIRTY_**

Sasuke had a feeling everyone but him seemed to know something was going on, and this thought was only reinforced when Itachi entered the training grounds with Gaara and Sakura on his heels. Out of instinct, his hand went to a weapon and he could only stare in disbelief when Kakashi merely waved at them in greeting.

Sasori did not seem to be with them and Sasuke wondered why no one was contacting the ANBU or something,

"Sasuke." Itachi walked over to them. "Kakashi-taichou." He glanced over at his shoulder and blinked, and it must have been some sort of signal because both Sakura and Gaara shuffled cautiously into the room.

"Hello Sasuke-san." Sakura walked past him into the training hall.

"Uchiha." Gaara followed.

Sasuke stood there, frozen in shock, until Itachi lightly nudged him. "Return the greeting, otouto." He said. "It is common courtesy."

Sasuke blinked, forgetting himself for a second. "Hello-" His eyes widened. "Nii-san, what are they doing here?" Sasuke had, of course, not forgotten how the Akasuna no Miki had saved him and his friends back in the Forest of Death. He had later found out just how close to dying they had come and he would never forget that. However, this was sort of a different thing altogether, because there were S-class shinobi in his home.

"He doesn't know?" Kakashi asked casually.

"He doesn't." Itachi confirmed.

"Know what?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura glanced over at Itachi and when the older nodded, she turned to Sasuke. "Your brother has hired us as anti-Orochimaru forces."

Sasuke blinked. "Huh?"

Sakura calmly regarded the confused boy. "Should Orochimaru try anything during the Chunin Exams, we will be fighting him on Konoha's side."

Mouth hanging open, Sasuke turned to Itachi for confirmation. His brother merely nodded.

Sakura let out a soft breath before she settled herself comfortably on the floor beside the door. Gaara followed, but not before he shot Sasuke one last smirk. "Well then, ally, please take care of us."

Gaara's words were nothing but mocking and Sasuke glared at the boy.

He could sort of understand Kakashi, but even his brother hadn't even batted an eyelash at this. What was everyone thinking?

The responsible, protective, older brother part of Itachi thought it went against everything he stood for when he had formerly introduced Sasuke to Sakura and Gaara, and in turn all the dangers that would be following them around.

However, the shinobi, friend part of Itachi pitied the children. Sure, he knew they were satisfied with what they had and knew Sasori was taking very good care of the, but he hurt for what they had had to throw away in exchange for this life. They shouldn't have had to throw away such mundane things like constant shelter and the protection of a village in order to have freedom.

He watched with unreadable eyes as Gaara baited poor Sasuke, who seemed to have no idea he was being lured into a trap, with snarky comments and rude gestures that Itachi knew drove Sasori mad.

Of course Gaara knew that too, which was why he did them in the first place.

Itachi turned to Sakura, who was watching the two boys argue with an almost undetectable smile on her face. He gave them a few more minutes before he softly cleared his throat, effectively catching his brother's attention. "Shall we continue training, otouto?"

Sasuke's eyes brightened a little and he bound over. "Yes."

Itachi made a gesture towards Kakashi who finally pulled himself into an upright posture; Itachi had been uncomfortable with the Jounin's lazily bent back and he mental let out sigh of relief.

Sakura and Gaara trailed off whatever they had been saying to watch with childish curiosity as Kakashi led Sasuke towards the middle of the training dojo.

"What is he going to do?" Sakura asked.

Itachi glanced over at his brother before he turned to the two children. "Hatake Kakashi is known for 'copying' the techniques of others, but there is one technique he created himself." A little away, Kakashi held up his hand, which began to cackle with lightning and sound distinctly like a thousand chirping birds. "The Chidori."

"That's lightening." Gaara breathed out.

"It's pretty." Sakura said.

"It is." Gaara agreed.

Sakura watched the lightening die away before she turned to Itachi. "Itachi-san, won't you teach us a new technique?" She asked.

Gaara leaned forward too. "Sasori's almost always puppets and poison." He said. "He doesn't use much ninjutsu."

Itachi felt something resonate within his chest. "Learning new techniques, especially ninjutsu ones, can take a long time. How about we try and expand on what you can do with what you currently know?"

The eyes of the two children brightened considerably and they glanced at each other.

Itachi resisted the urge to ran a hand through his hair. "It is a technique that kills." He said softly.

He hadn't said what exactly he was talking about but apparently, they understood. Gaara's eyes snapped in his direction. "I can see that." He said. "Sakura's black sand is beautiful too, and it can probably kill more people at once than a ball of lightning can."

It hurt that he sounded so proud.

"Your sand is very pretty." Sakura said. "Sasori's puppets are also beautiful."

At that moment, Itachi wanted to shake them both. If techniques of mass murder were beautiful, what would they think of the everyday scenery in Konoha and the sunrises and sunsets he viewed from the rooftops that he treasured so?

* * *

 **NEW STORY:**

 **The Invisible Sun within Us (Naruto x KHR Crossover):**

 **Sakura was supposed to be dead, so when she realizes that she is in the body of a child, she curses fate. She curses Naruto's pain, Sasuke's path of revenge, Kakashi's broken start and the second chance she doesn't deserve. Still, she swears to keep the girl alive. She had stolen the life of a girl with so much in front of her; it was the least she could do. Sakura reborn as Chrome**

* * *

 **So, here's chapter thirty!**

 ** _Darque: It turned a little not-so-happy at the end._**

 **Raven: It did, didn't it?**

 ** _Darque: Yeah._**

 **Raven: Well, I think it's okay, cause it fits.**

 _ **Darque: Hm, I guess it does.**_

 **Raven: Where to from here?**

 _ **Darque: I wonder (Wriggle eyebrows action thing)**_

 **Raven:...Really?**

 _ **Darque: Yup (Wide grin)**_

 **Raven: If we did that, I'll be doing this (Rolls eyes) every other line.**

 _ **Darque: Did you know, rolling your eyes can make your eyeballs face the wrong direction in your eye sockets and worse, make them fall out completely?**_

 **Raven: =.=(Rolls eyes)...Actually, isn't it better if they fall out completely? I have no idea what the inside of a human eye socket looks like and I don't think I'll really want to know...**

 _ **Darque: Match crazy with crazy. This si why we're friends.**_

 **Raven: Uh...right?**

 **Read and Review~**


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter THIRTY ONE**_

The arena was packed when three S-class missing nin slipped in through the gates like they were nothing but a part of the crowd. Itachi and Shisui had gone off to their own posts after giving Sasori last minute instructions on security, leaving the red haired shinobi to deal with the rest.

Which he was perfectly fine with doing.

Gaara teleported Sasori up onto the wooden beams on the ceiling before positioning himself at the closest entrance to the civilian district. Sakura placed herself on the opposite side, closer to the Forest of Death, and between the three of them, they somehow hoped they would be able to cover everything.

The exams started with a flourish and the battles that followed the greeting from the Hokage was met with an arena full of cheers.

Sasori wasn't feeling as enthusiastic. He could _feel_ Itachi's eyes boring into his skull from _somewhere,_ just daring him to drop the kunai he had been playing with on the head of some Hyuuga Naruto was fighting against. The moment Naruto opened his mouth to start yelling, he closed his eyes.

This was going to be a _very_ long day.

* * *

Then again, maybe not, because _things never went as planned for them._

Sasuke somehow managed to arrive just on time but even before the boy could begin his match, feathers began to fall from the sky. Sasori immediately recognized the genjutsu and dispelled it. He saw movement from the Uchiha's opponent, some fella named Dosu, and he quickly sent his kunai through his shoulder, not deep enough to kill but certainly enough to incapacitate for the time being.

After all, it would be _bad_ if he actually was a Konoha shinobi.

There was a loud crash from the Hokage box and instantly, shiboni begin swarming through the swaying people inside the village.

Temari and Kankuro streaked out from the crowd and flew towards Sasuke, who seemed a tad confused, though Sasori did not particularly blame the boy.

One Uchiha genius know it all was enough without his brother trying to follow in his footsteps.

He saw black sand raised up in a defensive wall to block Temari's wind attack and turned his attention to look for Gaara, who had a wall of his own up, protecting the unconscious audience from the attacking shinobi. Sasori's mind instantly splitted friend from foe and he made quick work of disposing of the shinobi bombarding the Ichibi.

"What do we do?" Gaara asked, and Sasori could tell that even the boy could tell this was serious; the younger redhead usually did as he liked. Sasori appreciated this ability to recognize when obedience was needed.

"There are enough shinobi in here to protect the civilians." He said. "I will go check on the Hokage. Sakura is fighting your siblings-"

Gaara's eyes widened.

"You need to go intercept the forces outside. Once you take care of that, you can go after Sakura."

Gaara looked torn for a second before his eyes hardened and he nodded. "Okay." He was gone in a swirl of sand.

Sasori sighed and began making his way towards the Hokage stands.

* * *

When a wave of black shot up from nowhere, Temari instinctively skidded to a half. Kankuro clumsily managed to do the same, but there was confusion in his eyes.

Temari gritted her teeth. Maybe Kankuro had been too young to remember.

Sasuke visibly relaxed and a second later, Sakura descended from the ground like a spider, her back attached to her ever moving web of iron sand.

"It has been a while, Temari, Kankuro."

Kankuro tensed but Temari recovered faster.

"Sakura-san."

Sakura nodded then glanced behind her shoulder at Sasuke. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke nodded stiffly. "What's going on?"

Sakura glanced upwards and looked around. "Orochimaru has brought with him an army." She said. "Konoha is under attack."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Wh-"

Sakura's hand moved in a flash, her iron sand shooting forward to catch Kankuro's puppet sneaking up on them. "I can sense anything metallic." She said. The iron sand began wrapping around the puppet, stopping Kankuro from pulling it back with his chakra strings. "Unfortunate, for you." She dropped it, but it didn't get back up.

"She clogged the gears with sand." Kankuro gritted out in a whisper. "Who is she? She seems to know us."

"Remember Sandaime Kazekage-sama's missing daughter?" Temari asked. "That's Sakura."

The iron sand began swirling around Sakura's feet and Temari grabbed her brother's wrist. "We have to go. _NOW!"_

Iron sand flew towards them in deadly tendrils. Someone called their name and they saw Baki flying towards them. Sakura beat them to him, though, and her iron sand pierced through his legs, making him fall to the ground.

"BAKI-SENSEI!" Kankuro faltered but Temari dragged her brother away.

Sakura stood unmoving from her position in the middle of the field, arms crossed and looking down on them, a blank look in her eyes.

Temari and Kankuro darted out of the arena.

* * *

Seconds later, Sasuke found himself running through the Forest of Death in pursuit of the two Suna Genin that had taken off them moment they had caught sight of Sakura.

"I guess you know them?" He called.

Sakura nodded stiffly. "They are Gaara's older siblings." She said. "They are the children of the Fourth Kazekage."

Sasuke blinked. "Gaara is the Kazekage's son?" He asked.

Sakura nodded. "That is where we first met. I was appointed his caretaker."

"You're the same age." Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura shrugged. "All I was to do was keep him under control." She quickened her pace and Sasuke decided to drop the topic.

Sakura raised her arm and swung it forward. Her iron sand shot out from the shadows of her clothing and tore through the trees, clearing the branches. Sasuke saw her steps become more confident and noted that Sakura was not used to nimble footwork needed to move through the trees.

Then again, she didn't really need to be when her sand could crush anything in her path.

* * *

 **Chaputa- sa-ti-tsu-.**

 _ **Darque: Yes, saatiitsuuuuuuuu,**_

 **Raven:...Please don't.**

 _ **Darque: Meh, it does sound a little funny,**_

 **Raven; A little, yeah.**

 _ **Darque: Heh,**_

 **Raven: Also, did you know that you've used a comma at the end of all your sentences during this AN?**

 _ **Darque: Oh.**_

 **Raven: You fixed it now.**

 _ **Darque: I didn't even realize. How did you even see that?**_

 **Raven: How did you not?**

 _ **Darque: I have no idea.**_

 **Raven: You want me to tell you?**

 _ **Darque: Yes please.**_

 **Raven: Because you have your tab zoomed out to about 50%.**

 _ **Darque:...How did you know that?**_

 **Raven: I saw it.**

 _ **Darque: A year ago.**_

 **Raven: Yup.**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven:...**

 **Read and Review...?**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter THIRTY TWO**

Gaara did not hesitate against any of his opponents. The Konoha shinobi were very wary around him, he could tell, but they did not seem to be completely against someone like him begin on their side, especially when Shisui landed beside him a few minutes into the fight and began fighting beside him. Gaara hesitated for a second before he sends his sand to hover over the Uchiha, then deciding continue on with everyone else in the area.

Gaara usually did not like doing this; Sakura had her own sand and she was the one that usually defended Sasori, not that the puppet master needed the shielding much often. Still half his senses were spread thinly over the shinobi fighting around him, the huge wave of sand growing at his feet deftly moving to shield them should they need it.

He felt his sand rise up to shield a shinobi who had been knocked off his feet and was being jumped on by a Oto shinobi. He swept his hand and the sand turned into a sharp point, tearing through his opponent, as well as several more shinobi behind him. Their unmoving bodies were picked up and tossed into a group of Suna shinobi, knocking them backwards and making them easy picks for his sand. His sand rose up behind his, this time to catch a barrage of weapon, crushing them and tossing the specks into the air.

Maybe Sakura could use it if her fights brought her over.

Beside him, Shisui let out a sound of amusement as a tendril of sand handed him the kunai that had been knocked out of his hand a few seconds ago.

When Gaara turned to glare at him, the Uchiha reached out to ruffle his hair, only to be stopped by a wall of sand. Gaara had been able to stop his wall from automatically popping up at the slightest of contact, mostly thanks to Sakura and the suppression with her iron sand, but it wasn't as easy in a battle, where his sand was lying freely at his feet and his entire body was tense with a sense of danger.

"Woah." Shisui quickly pulled back.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked. An enemy shinobi flew at him and he was tossed into a wall without even a look of acknowledgement.

Shisui chuckled. "You really are like an one-man army." He said.

Gaara scoffed and turned back to the fight. The band around Sakura's wrist was pulsing somewhere in the direction of the Forest of Death and he had to finish up quickly here and go after her.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke moved deeper into the forest, crushing the Oto and Suna forces that were lingering.

Well, Sakura did most of the crushing; Sasuke just helped her locate their opponents.

Sometime along their chase, something wrapped around Sasuke's torso and before he could even make a sound in shock, he was being lifted off his feet. He instantly felt himself speed up and looked to see Sakura perched on a wave of ironsand. The tendril of sand around him dropped him beside her.

Not really knowing where to comment first, he settled with a simple question."Where did that come from?" He asked.

Sakura shrugged. "This is a battle and metal is my iron sand." At Sasuke's confused look, she continued. "A countless numbers of weapons are broken and thrown aside. Those are easily crushed and added to my collection."

Sasuke tilted his head and considered this before shrugging in satisfaction.

Soon, Oto and Suna shinobi began appearing. Sasuke watched Sakura's iron sand toss them aside without a single glance but something seemed off. "Why are there so many shinobi out here?" He wondered out loud.

Sakura dismissively flicked her hand and her iron sand knocked off a shinobi that had managed to land on her wave. His body was tossed into a tree and he didn't get up. Sakura then turned to look at him curiously. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"There are increasing numbers of shinobi the further we seem to go, even though the focus of the battle should be on Konoha." Sasuke frowned, mind whirling. "And why did the Kazekage's children flee the main battlefield?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed and Sasuke realized with a start that maybe, mind battles were not exactly Sakura's forte. With the combination of her companions prowess as well as her own, she probably didn't have to worry about things like that.

Still, what Sakura usually did not consider in battles, she made up with experience. With a sharp jerk of her hand, her iron sand changed routes. Sasuke grabbed at the sand and it formed rails for him to hold on to.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Back to Konoha." Sakura told him. "You are right, there is something wrong."

Just then, Sasuke felt a rush of air. He couldn't hear anything but a second later, the sand beneath him became sluggish in its movements and Sakura slowly raised a hand to her ear, eyes wide.

"Sakura?"

Sakura whipped around and swung her arms towards the trees. Her iron sand split in two, half of it going after whatever she had sensed in the trees while the other half began moving with renewed vigor. There was a scream in the distant and Sakura's sand flew back towards her. Something was dropped into the girl's hand and she inspected it.

Sasuke glanced at the thing, a small, metal machine of some sort. "What is that?"

Sakura handed it to him without a word, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. "Orochimaru." She said. "He is here, and he is ready."

"Wha-" Sasuke was cut off when a huge wall of black sand popped up in front of them, jerking them to a stop. There was a strong gust of wind, no doubt form a wind technique, that threatened to tear apart their shield, but Sakura's wall held up.

"It appears he does not want us going back."

That was the last thing he heard before a huge explosion knocked him off the black sand.

* * *

 **Chapter thirty two is here!~**

 _ **Darque: Okay, so previously, I planned to have another part to this chapter, but I took it out cause it became too long if I kept it, so it kinda became...uh...**_

 **Raven: Boring?**

 _ **Darque: Hmmm...I'd say there's a lack of focus.**_

 **Rave: Isn't that just because you don't understand what you're writing?**

 _ **Darque:...I know what I am writing.**_

 **Raven:...I see you have learnt.**

 _ **Darque: What?**_

 **Raven: To pretend you know what you are doing. You clearly do not.**

 _ **Darque: You were the one that told me to pretend. If you're not going to believe me either way, why should I bother?**_

 **Raven: I guess I'm too smart to fall or your tricks.**

 _ **Darque: Now, that is a funny joke.**_

 **Raven: =.= I am smart.**

 _ **Darque: I know.**_

 **Raven:...I have no idea what you're trying to say right now.**

 **Read and Review~**


	33. Chapter 33

_**Chapter THIRTY THREE**_

When Gaara's band of sand began to shift and form words, Sasori knew there was something wrong.

Gaara usually gave vague hints of his following plans and actions and expected you to understand what exactly he wanted. Fortunately, Sasori was smart enough, as well as had spent enough time with the younger redhead, to understand what he meant.

Most of the time.

But the words that appeared on his arm then alarmed him more than he was willing to admit.

 _Orochimaru in Forest._

Of course, there was nothing exact he could gauge from these words, but Sasori knew Gaara well enough to know that the boy would not just send him a status update. From his wording, Sasori could tell that Gaara was not confronting the Sannin, which could only mean that Sakura had relayed the message to him, because there was no way Gaara could be in the same area at Orochimaru and not go fight him. Which in turn meant that Sakura was the one in Orochimaru's vicinity.

This worried Sasori on a few levels, the most obvious being that _Sakura and Orochimaru were in the same area_.

Who wouldn't be worried by that?

He sighed and glanced around the chaotic battle field. He would have to clear this as quickly as possible, then hopefully group with his companions before something happened.

* * *

Even in his fuzzy state, Sasuke could feel the firm limb around his torso. It took him a few seconds to recover from the sudden explosive attack and he struggled to reattach his feet to Sakura's sand wave.

The pinkette's arm did not loosen around his middle and she only let go when Sasuke was sure he could cling on.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Daitoppa." Sakura said. "It appears he is right behind us." He flicked her fingers and her sand moved to do her bidding. Sasuke glanced around at the iron specs, realizing that there was so much more than what she had displayed on the bridge.

In seconds, Sakura's wave was towering over the trees in the area. The girl grabbed his wrist and he found himself sinking into the sand. He landed in an air pocket within. He then felt a tugging feeling in his stomach, like he was falling at great speeds. There was a sudden jolt and Sasuke had a feeling they were now moving through underground.

Sakura glanced around her 360 dome. "In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru was after you." She said. "I too have a past of him being after me."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but did not comment. Instead, he hned in agreement. "We have reason to believe he is after one, if not, both, of us."

Sakura nodded sharply. "Orochimaru was not expecting us in the Forest of Death, but he is sure to have prepared for this." She said. "Unlike Gaara's sand, which is more instinctual, my ability allows we to control magnetism through concentration."

"And concentration can be broken." Sasuke thought back to the unnatural, unheard sound from earlier.

Sakura nodded, then gestured towards the lump of metal in Sasuke's hand. "That thing sends out waves of magnetism that confuses me. Being metal, of course I can jam it, but that is only if I can get to it first."

Sasuke eyed the machine. "Where are we now?" He asked.

"Almost at the arena." Sakura said. "Gaara is aware Orochimaru is after us, and I am sure Sasori, as well as Shisui, know as well."

There was a sudden jerk upwards and when the walls fell away, Sasuke found himself standing beside the arena of the third part of the exams. He quickly scrambled to his feet and drew a weapon.

"Last time, we had the element of surprise and Gaara was with me." Sakura said. "I cannot fight Orochimaru on my own."

Oto shinobi appeared at the huge hole in the walls but Sakura's iron sand got to them before they could even react. The two of them darted back in and was almost instantly met by Kakashi.

"I am not going to question where you were." The Jounin said with a sigh. He glanced over them, as if to make sure they were unhurt, before he nods. "What is it like out there?"

Sakura shrugged. "Orochimaru is after us." She told him curtly. "If he has not stopped chasing us, he will be here soon."

Kakashi stiffened and a second later, a familiar killing intent flooded the arena, freezing most on the spot.

"We brought him back here?" Sasuke asked. "I thought you couldn't fight him."

Sakura nodded, then turned it step towards the Snake Sannin, who had perched himself at the mouth of the arena, a smirk playing on his lips.

Kakashi moved to step in front of her but Sakura raised her hand to stop him. "I cannot." She agreed. "Not alone."

* * *

Sasori had been confronted by a handful of Konoha shinobi he was sure he could have taken out by himself but Itachi had interrupted them before he could draw a weapon.

"Sasori, in case you have missed it, _Konoha is under attack._ "

Sasori shot the Uchiha a strange look. "Of course." He said. "I can obviously see it."

"Then why are you preparing to fight the people whom you are supposed to be sided with?"

"They looked like they wanted to chat, you know? With metallic sounds rather than words. I was just going to comply to their unspoken wishes."

Itachi rolled his eyes and hurried over to the leader of the Konoha team. He murmured a few words to him and the shinobi retreated with nothing more but a few extra suspicious glares.

"You saved me." Sasori drawled.

Itachi huffed. "I saved theirs."

Sasori sneered. "That you did."

The Uchiha's hands wandered towards his pouch and Sasori lazily noted that while they were surrounded, no one had made a move to attack them.

It must have been something about Uchiha Itachi and Akasuna no Sasori standing around and chatting like one would about the weather. Sasori followed his companion's example and drew a scroll. "It appears Sakura and Sasuke have had a run in with Orochimaru." He went on before Itachi could panic and dart off. "Gaara is headed there and it appears Hatake Kakashi is with them. We need to get this quickly cleared up, so don't let you brother complex cloud your mind, hm?"

Itachi scoffed and drew a kunai. The action alone seemed to make their opponents wary and Sasori pitied these foolish shinobi who had _dared to get in between Itachi and his beloved Sasuke._

He rolled his eyes as Itachi jumped at their opponents with a viciousness he usually reserved for when he was truly angry.

He highly doubted he was needed here.

* * *

 **Here's chapter thirty three~**

 _ **Darque: Itachi and his brother complex.**_

 **Raven:**

 _ **Darque: We'll get some Sasori fluff soon too, I think.**_

 **Raven:**

 _ **Darqu** **e: And some mroe VS Orochimaru fights.**_

 **Raven** **:**

 _ **Drque: Rae?**_

 **Raven: Nothing, ignore me.**

 _ **Darque: I haven't said anything.**_

 **Raven: Just gimme a few more seconds...**

 _ **Darque: What are you doing?**_

 **Raven: Counting my money.**

 _ **Darque: ?**_

 **Raven: We went out for sushi, remember? You eat like a swamp monster.**

 _ **Darque:...Are you calling me fat and ugly?**_

 **Raven: Not to mention, we have a book store visit planned tomorrow, and no doubt you'll want to eat lunch somewhere...**

 _ **Darque: RAE?**_

 **Raven: Oh the horrors, this is not enough. I'll have to go ask for pocket money or something. Bye.**

 _ **Darque:...At least he's diligent.**_

 **Read and Review~**


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